Liam Lawson, a Formula 1 driver from New Zealand, said he was “pretty happy” after finishing seventh at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.
The 24-year-old Racing Bulls driver also came seventh in the sprint race, giving his team eight points across the weekend. Lawson started the main race in 14th place and looked unlikely to score when a safety car came out just after his pit stop. That badly affected his position and pushed him down the order. Even so, he fought back through the field and ended the race in seventh place.
Lawson said his team did a good job with strategy and that the result was better than expected. He also said the car had strong pace, but still needed more speed to challenge the teams in front. His result moved him up to ninth in the drivers’ standings on eight points, level with Max Verstappen.
The race was won by young Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who took his first Formula 1 victory. His teammate George Russell finished second, while Lewis Hamilton came third for Ferrari.
However, the new 2026 Formula 1 cars are facing growing criticism from several drivers. The rules split engine power evenly between fuel power and electric power, which has made energy use much more important during races. So far, the new cars have had many reliability problems, with four drivers unable to start in China and three more retiring during the race. Verstappen called the new rules “fundamentally flawed”, while Lando Norris said the cars must be driven in a completely different way from anything drivers learned in lower racing series.
Formula 1 will now travel to Japan for next weekend’s race at Suzuka.
