Liam Lawson puzzled by Monaco GP turnaround after F1 'struggles'

Liam Lawson has explained his puzzlement at Racing Bulls' swing in fortunes in Monaco after banking a top 10 result in qualifying.

Throughout the three practice sessions in Monte Carlo, Lawson placed in 19th, 16th, and 15th despite coming into the weekend optimistic the nature of the circuit would suit his package.

However, during qualifying, Lawson placed 13th, ninth, and then 10th through the three segments to secure a top 10 on the grid ahead of what will be the 250th grand prix start by a New Zealander in the world championship. 

Reflecting on his turnaround, Lawson explained how, despite the good result, there was still a "struggle" the team had to overcome. 

"Before the weekend, honestly, we were expecting [a good result], we thought we had a good car in low speed and that we should be good here," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365. 

"But on Friday, we really struggled, so I think it is a good recovery. We made a lot of changes for this weekend, far more than normal, so it is good, but after Friday, we'll obviously have to understand fully why we started so far away.

"Q2 was a very good lap, and in Q3 we struggled a bit with warm-up, like most people were doing build laps and we were doing one, but the first sector was tough. 

"So I actually went for another push lap after my lap, and I was finding time through Sector 1, but the rears went away and trying to put it all on one lap was very, very tough."