Liam Lawson spies Isack Hadjar influence for Racing Bulls turnaround

Liam Lawson will move more towards Isack Hadjar's set-up after an underwhelming start to his Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.

The New Zealander sat out FP1 at the Yas Marina Circuit for Super Formula champion Ayumu Iwasa, but when he returned to the cockpit of his Racing Bulls car, he found himself off the pace his team-mate achieved in the other VCARB 02.

Lawson, who had his future at the Faenza-based squad confirmed earlier this week, will therefore lean into Hadjar's set-up, in the hope of unlocking more pace.

He was only able to go P18 in the second hour of running, whilst the future Red Bull driver alongside him was seventh-quickest and over eight-tenths faster.

Reflecting on his opening session of the F1 season finale, the 23-year-old said: "It's a little bit tricky.

"Obviously, we missed FP1 this morning, so there's naturally a little bit of catch-up to do, but probably more than we were expecting.

"So we'll get to work tonight and try and put the pieces together and come back with a stronger car tomorrow.

"I think, obviously, tomorrow's session is a little bit difficult; it's not very representative with how warm it'll be in FP3, but the main thing we'll be focusing on is trying to build a good car for qualifying."

With both Stake and Haas looking quick over the opening day of running, Racing Bulls will want both its drivers at their best to put any lingering risk of losing sixth in the constructors' standings to bed.

When asked how his race pace felt, Lawson revealed the sister car appeared to have unearthed a crucial element, one that he would attempt to replicate on his side of the garage.

"A little bit difficult, honestly," he replied. "I think on the other side of the garage, it's quite quick, so we'll probably end up going a little bit more towards their car, and hopefully it brings some performance for us.

"But I think overall, as a team, it's quite quick. We just need to tune up my car a little bit."