Liam Lawson was 'braced' for horror smash in F1 start scare

Liam Lawson has admitted he was lucky to avoid being collected on the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix, having been “braced” for a massive impact.

The New Zealander was slow to pull off the start line when the race from Melbourne got underway, forcing several drivers to take avoiding action.

Franco Colapinto came closest to hitting the rear of the Racing Bulls challenger, but the Alpine driver managed to avoid a collision after a late manoeuvre.

Lawson issued praise to his F1 rival for his fast reactions and conceded that he was anticipating being struck at high speed.

“It was very impressive from his side to avoid it, very good reactions,” Lawson told media including RacingNews365.

“I was very lucky. At that point, I had already braced in the car, because I was looking in my mirror and I saw his car on my left when he was close to me. 

“I was sure he was going to hit me, and then all of a sudden, he came by me on the right.

“He did a very good job to avoid that. And obviously we need to do everything we can to make sure we don't have the same issues off the start, because it cost us the race.”

“It's just very complicated. When you see us sitting there for 10 seconds trying to start our pre-start procedure, and the starts are very inconsistent - it's a new car - but still it's very tricky at the moment.”

Several drivers have voiced their fear over a repeat of the situation going forward as the competitors continue to adapt to the new power units.

Lawson accepted it is up to the FIA to make any potential changes, but voiced his agreement with his fellow drivers that the current situation is dangerous.

“What happened to me on the weekend is so easy to happen,” he said. 

“If Franco hadn't done a very good job at avoiding it, that would have been a really, really big crash. 

“At the moment, it is quite dangerous. But in terms of the decision-making, we're not part of that. 

“So we'll obviously give our opinions on what we're feeling inside the car. But it's up to the FIA if they want to change something.”