Lawson’s gritty Italian Grand Prix ended in frustration rather than reward, but it underlined why his name is starting to stick in the paddock.
The New Zealander first stepped into Isack Hadjar’s seat at the Dutch Grand Prix, thrown into the car after the Frenchman damaged his wrist during the summer break. Little preparation, heavy expectation. He responded with seventh in the main race, just missing out on points in the sprint as he scrambled to get up to speed.
Monza
Monza told a harsher story.
Starting from the pit lane, Lawson had a long afternoon ahead of him on a circuit that punishes hesitation and rewards absolute conviction on the brakes. He didn’t hang back. From last on the road he sliced through the pack, climbing all the way to 11th and edging within sight of the points.
Then it unraveled.
A clash with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg damaged his front wing, wrecking the balance of the car and with it any realistic hope of turning that charge into a top-10 finish. What had looked like a clever recovery drive became a lesson in how quickly Monza can bite.
The numbers still show a solid foundation. Lawson holds ninth in the drivers’ standings on 51 points, 20 behind Hadjar but 10 clear of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who took pole for the Italian Grand Prix and converted it into seventh at Monza.
Now the calendar eases off. After Monday morning’s Spanish Grand Prix, the series pauses for a two-week break before Azerbaijan. For Lawson, that gap offers something he hasn’t really had since stepping in for Hadjar: time to breathe, reset, and turn flashes of promise into something more sustained.
