FIA confirms Liam Lawson punishment after British GP Sprint incident

Liam Lawson has been handed a warning after an FIA stewards investigation into an abnormal change of direction while defending from Isack Hadjar in the British Grand Prix Sprint race.

The Racing Bulls driver moved late in defending against Hadjar into Stowe during the British Grand Prix Sprint, but the stewards were satisfied it did not merit a time penalty.

Liam Lawson handed warning by FIA after British GP Sprint incident

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Hadjar found himself closing up to the back of Lawson at high speed on the Hangar Straight, trying a late move into the fast right-hander of Stowe before Lawson shut the door.

The lateness of Lawson’s defence came to Hadjar’s surprise, with the Red Bull driver exclaiming over team radio: “Man, that was crazy! Moved under braking so hard!”

The FIA stewards have issued Lawson win a warning after concluding that his offence was not worthy of a time penalty.

As a result, Racing Bulls driver Lawson keeps the solitary point he gained as a result of his eighth place finish in Saturday’s Sprint.

The stewards noted that Hadjar himself did not believe the move was penalty-worthy, too, citing the high closing speeds between the pair and that sufficient room to the apex had been left.

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The stewards’ report read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), the driver of Car 6 (Isack Hadjar), the team representatives and reviewed video, telemetry and in-car video evidence.

“The matter concerned the defensive move by Car 30 on the approach to Turn 15 on Lap 16 while defending position against Car 6.

“The driver of Car 30 stated that, at the relevant time, he was still at full throttle and had not yet commenced braking, and that the movement of the car was part of deceleration and preparation for the corner rather than a movement under braking.

“The driver of Car 6 stated that the move by Car 30 was sharp, but also that sufficient room was left and that contact was avoided.

“In his view, the incident did not merit a penalty.

“He also referred to the fact that the two cars were on different energy levels, which made the closing speed difficult to judge.

“The Stewards accept that this was not a case of a significant change of direction after the braking phase had clearly commenced, and also accept that Car 30 left sufficient room for Car 6 to ensure that no contact occurred.

“The Stewards also accept that the different energy states of the two cars made the closing speed into the corner more difficult for the driver of Car 30 to assess.

“However, the Stewards considered that the defensive move by Car 30 was sufficiently late and abrupt that it warranted a formal caution.

“Although the Stewards were not satisfied that the circumstances justified a stronger penalty, they considered that the move was marginally over the limit of what is acceptable when defending into a corner.

“Accordingly, the Stewards impose a Warning on the driver of Car 30.”

Lawson was one of the early beneficiaries of a slow start for Hadjar, who fell from 8th to 13th place on the first lap and, while he recovered to ninth, was unable to make his way back into the points.

“We had a bad start,” Lawson added of his own Sprint.

“I don’t even remember passing Isack at the start, but I must have got him somewhere because obviously he came back through towards the end of the race.

“It was a good fight in the end.”

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