Liam Lawson declares ‘karma’ as Chinese GP radio call and Lindblad battle explained

Liam Lawson jumped on team radio as he came under attack from Racing Bulls teammate, Arvid Lindblad, during the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lawson clarified that he was about to make his pit-stop, so did not want to lose positions, and therefore time, to Lindblad and the following train. Lawson described it as “karma” when the Safety Car appeared shortly after he had pitted.

Liam Lawson explains Arvid Lindblad radio moment in China

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

Ultimately, Lawson and Racing Bulls came away from Shanghai with a strong result. Lawson finished the Sprint and Grand Prix in seventh, bagging eight points in total.

“For the speed we had this weekend, it’s very positive,” Lawson said of the result post-race.

“We definitely didn’t expect to have two points finishes after Sprint qualifying, and qualifying yesterday especially. So, yeah, very happy.”

Towards the end of his first stint, Lawson found himself coming under attack from Lindblad in the sister Racing Bulls car. Lindblad was on the alternate strategy, having started on hard tyres. Lawson was on mediums.

“Guys…” Lawson said over the radio, as the team confirmed that it was reviewing.

“Yeah, it’s okay. I’m just going to lose time,” Lawson came back with.

Lawson pitted on Lap 10 for hard tyres. On the same lap, the Safety Car was deployed to cover Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin.

The drivers who started on hard tyres, did not pit.

Asked about his comments over the radio as Lindblad looked to overtake, Lawson said: “I was trying to box.

“He had a train of cars behind him, and if he got me, then I was probably going to get done by two or three more.

“So I was trying to not lose too much time.

“And in the end, we boxed right before the Safety Car, which was probably karma.”

More Chinese Grand Prix reaction from PlanetF1.com

Winners and losers from the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Chinese GP driver ratings: Antonelli shines, Hamilton impresses and Ocon falters

Lawson raced on to cross the line P7.

“In Melbourne we were quite quick, but we definitely weren’t quick this weekend,” he claimed, “so we’ve salvaged a great result out of a pretty average weekend on pace.

“So going forward, once we find some speed, I think we should be in a great position.”

He added: “Over a race weekend, even if you have a quick car, there’s a lot you have to do strategy wise, also race pace wise, to make sure you look after the tyres and have a car that’s good over the race. And for the speed we had, we’ve absolutely maximised the package this weekend.

“That’s a good result. Great. Full credit to the team, obviously, for the hard work, and I’m sure it motivates everybody, because we know once we do find that pace, we’ll be in an even better position.”

As for Lindblad, he came out at the other end of the fortune scale with that Safety Car, the Brit believes.

He would ultimately finish P12.

“The start I think was quite good. I think I made up a few places on Lap 1,” he said in reflection on his race.

“Then, unfortunately, the timing of the Safety Car just didn’t really help our strategy. It wasn’t really possible to pit at that point onto the medium because it was just too long left, so we were forced to stay out, and unfortunately, no intervention came to let us pit under. So we just lost a lot of time there.

“And then just struggled a lot in the middle part of the race with everyone else on new tyres around me.

“I think there’s a lot of things to look into, some things to improve, for sure. It’s not been an easy weekend, but I think there’s a lot to learn, and I’m just going to focus on what I can do better for Japan.”

Quizzed on Lawson’s comments over the radio, and asked what conversations were going on with the pit wall, Lindblad replied: “I don’t know. I was racing.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next – Chinese GP conclusions: Verstappen sabbatical fear, mixed Hamilton feelings, McLaren Powertrains