Lawson delivers ‘masterclass’

Liam Lawson equalled his best finish of 2026 after moving through the field to claim seventh place in the Canadian Grand Prix.

The result keeps the Kiwi in the top 10 of the drivers’ standings with 16 points overall, only two points behind ninth-placed Oliver Bearman and four adrift of Pierre Gasly in eighth.

Lawson started 11th on the grid at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Monday (NZ time) before steering his Visa Cash App Racing Bulls car into the points come the chequered flag.

His teammate, Arvid Lindblad, had a weekend to forget after his car failed on the grid and he was unable to start the grand prix, which was won by Mercedes’ Kim Antonelli.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the podium after finishing second and third, respectively.

Lawson ended the race sandwiched between the two Alpine cars of Franco Colapinto and Gasly, who he managed to keep at bay in the latter stages.

It was his third top 10 result of the campaign after coming seventh in the Chinese Grand Prix and ninth in Japan.

“Finishing in P7 is definitely a good result for us, so it’s nice to bring home points for the team,” says Lawson of his Canada result. 

“Overall, it wasn’t an easy race. We made up some ground from where we started, but we also struggled with the balance of the car and lacked some speed throughout the race. 

“The biggest challenge was to maintain the correct temperature on the tyres as we were only able to do it during the flat-out laps. 

“The Alpines were faster than us today and Pierre didn’t give me an easy time at the end of the race when I was on the soft tyres, so I’m happy to have defended my position.” 

Alan Permane, Racing Bulls team principal, says Lawson produced a stunning race despite the team not being as fast as Alpine and is looking forward to the next Formula 1 action at Monaco on June 8 (NZ time). 

“He showed a masterclass of defending against a clearly faster car, so it’s great to have him finish in the points following a tricky start to the weekend,” adds Permane. 

“After today’s race we move to P6 in the championship. With much of the season left to go, there are plenty of opportunities to secure points. 

“The car has worked exceptionally well here with the low-speed corners and we’ve certainly benefited from our upgrades to the car. With Monaco being only low-speed corners, there’s hope and confidence for a strong race.”