Colossal penalty hits F1 driver in Austin

Liam Lawson, returning to Formula 1 this weekend as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement at Racing Bulls, finds himself in a difficult situation. The New Zealand driver will have to start from the back of the grid during the United States Grand Prix, 19th round of the 2024 F1 calendar.

In taking Ricciardo’s seat at Racing Bulls, Lawson also inherited the Australian driver’s engine components. Unfortunately for him, this means he will have to suffer a major penalty on the starting grid.

60 penalty places

In fact, the entire power unit has been replaced, which results in a cumulative penalty of 60 places! However, according to FIA regulations, a driver who accumulates more than 15 penalty places must automatically start from last position, regardless of the total number of places exceeded.

Although this impressive number of 60 places may seem excessive, Lawson will not be relegated to the last corner of the circuit. He will simply start in last position on the starting grid, behind all the other drivers. This start from the back constitutes a major challenge for Lawson, who will have to put in an exceptional comeback race if he hopes to get into the points.

Promising debut in free practice

Lawson has already shown that he is capable of competing with teammate Yuki Tsunoda. During the first free practice session (FP1), he finished an encouraging 13th place, finding himself only 130 thousandths behind his teammate, ranked 10th.

Even more notable, he finished ahead of Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez, who could do no better than 16th place. These performances suggest good potential for the rest of the weekend.

A challenge to take up to get into the points

If the United States Grand Prix therefore represents a difficult test for Liam Lawson, it also offers the young New Zealand driver an opportunity to prove his worth. If he manages to take advantage of the sprint race and move up in the main race, he could well surprise by fighting for a place in the points zone.