During the Free Practice 2 session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Liam Lawson ended his run prematurely when he crashed into the wall at Turn 17, damaging the front right tyre of his Racing Bulls car. The New Zealander attributed the crash to taking excessive kerb on Turns 16 and 17, which unsettled the car as he tried to maintain speed, resulting in a loss of control and impact with the barrier.
The collision caused a red flag, with sparks flying as the car made contact under the floodlights. Lawson expressed disappointment at how the session ended, noting that Racing Bulls had shown promising pace prior to the incident.
Lawson Reflects on the Incident and Car Performance
Explaining his crash, Lawson said,
“Just I got a little bit too much kerb in [Turn] 16 and bounced me across to the left, and then I took too much kerb in 17, and then just tried to carry the speed, and right at the last minute, lost it and hit the wall.”
He described the crash as “a shame,” emphasizing that the car felt very quick throughout the day despite a challenging first practice session. Lawson attempted some setup changes in FP1 and felt more comfortable in Free Practice 2 before the crash occurred.
So yeah, it’s frustrating to obviously end the session in the wall, but up to that point, it was strong, and at least short run pace at the moment looks quite good.
– Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Driver
Assessment of Racing Bulls’ Competitiveness at Singapore
Lawson’s teammate, Isack Hadjar, finished Free Practice 2 in second place, only 0.132 seconds behind the fastest time set by Drivers’ Championship leader Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. This result highlighted the strong pace available to the Racing Bulls team on this challenging street circuit.
When asked about Hadjar’s position reflecting the team’s true speed, Lawson expressed confidence in their performance but acknowledged the uncertainty of competitors’ strategies. He stated,
“We obviously know what we’re doing, and we’re very happy with where the car’s at, but obviously we have to keep chasing it because it’s very, very close.”
So we’ll make some more changes overnight and fine tune it. I’ll learn from obviously what happened today, and then we’ll try put it together for tomorrow.
– Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Driver
Contextual Developments and Next Steps
The Singapore Grand Prix weekend continues to unfold with strategic adjustments expected from Racing Bulls as they seek to maximize their qualifying performance. Lawson’s crash serves as a reminder of the fine margins at a demanding circuit where pushing limits can quickly lead to setbacks.
Meanwhile, the broader event has produced other notable incidents, including a pit lane collision involving Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, which has drawn FIA attention and penalties. As Racing Bulls refine their approach overnight, Lawson aims to rebuild momentum heading into qualifying and the race.
