Liam Lawson reveals Oscar Piastri wish after unexpected Max Verstappen fight

Liam Lawson has admitted he wishes he had fought harder against Oscar Piastri during a Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia that saw him surge from P11 on the grid to briefly challenge Max Verstappen for third place.

Lawson eventually crossed the line seventh at the Sepang International Circuit, salvaging a strong result from what had looked set to be a lowly ninth-place finish, after George Russell's late retirement behind the safety car and Lando Norris' tense near-miss with Piastri just moments later reshuffled the order in the closing laps.

The Racing Bulls driver's afternoon began with a stunning opening lap, catapulting him from P11 on the grid into contention with Verstappen for the final podium spot inside the first corner.

Although that fight did not last, the 24-year-old's pace through the second stint kept him firmly in the mix as the race unfolded over its 55 laps.

Asked about his brilliant start, Lawson told media, including RacingNews365, that he had not anticipated such an immediate opportunity.

"Great start," the New Zealander said. "I didn't expect to be fighting Max in Turn 1 from where I was starting, but the car hooked up, and yeah, just very, very happy, very proud of the team.

"All the right decisions today with tyre choices, as much as sometimes I doubted it, to be honest. But I think we had quite a good car as well. Especially that second stint was very strong for us."

Lawson rues Piastri scrap

Lawson's afternoon also included a tussle with Piastri, whom he fought in Turn 1 before easing off the defence into Turn 4, a decision he later felt left points on the table.

Asked whether he could have secured an even better result, Lawson reflected on how the race had looked from inside the cockpit before fortune turned in his favour, saying: "No, that's the thing.

"There was a point in the race where I thought, 'I feel like we've done a lot here all for a P9', and then we obviously got very lucky at the end there.

"And to be honest, I kind of wish I'd fought Oscar more because I passed them in Turn 1, and then I didn't really defend too hard into 4; I just braked a bit early because I expected them to be quite a bit quicker, and they didn't really drive away that much. But happy with the P7."