Liam Lawson makes 'energy' revelation despite equalling 50-year record

Liam Lawson has revealed his frustration at being passed by Kimi Antonelli in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after "running out of energy" after his pit-stop. 

Lawson started third in Baku and ran strongly in the opening stages, keeping the place until his pit-stop, which was in response to Antonelli attempting the undercut. 

At the start of Lap 21, Lawson actually emerged ahead of Antonelli and what was then 10th place as the Mercedes used DRS on the run to Turn 3, but on the main straight to begin Lap 22, Antonelli roared past. 

Antonelli would go onto finish in fourth as Lawson engaged in a late battle with Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton whilst also keeping Charles Leclerc behind for long periods of the race. 

Eventually, Lawson cycled through to a fifth place finish, which is a career-best, eclipsing his sixth from Austria earlier this season, and is the best for a New Zealander in F1 since Chris Amon's fifth at the 1976 Spanish GP. 

Reflecting, Lawson explained how he made sure he learnt his lesson from being handicapped during the Antonelli battle.

Liam Lawson makes 'frustrating' revelation despite equalling 50-year record

"I ran out of energy, it was so frustrating," Lawson explained of the battle with Antonelli to media, including RacingNews365. 

"I saw the bar and got to the straight, and I knew halfway down that I was going to have nothing left, so it is something I learned from.

"I made sure that when the next pack of cars came, it never happened, and I made sure through the lap that I always had the energy, so it was a big learning point for me.

"But realistically, he finished 10 seconds or something in front of me (11.530s), so I don't think I would have kept him behind for another 30-odd laps, it was hard enough to keep the other group behind me.

"I don't think we had the speed to finish on the podium, as much as I would have loved it, and when you start P3, obviously, part of you tries to make it feel like it is possible.

"We tried everything, we made the right call on the pit-stops, tried to cover Kimi, but just didn't have the speed. 

"So it is frustrating, but looking at the big picture, it is a great result to finish fifth and take that going forward."