Lawson returns as Racing Bulls; Lindblad’s FP2 ends early in Baku

Thursday in Baku delivered contrasting fortunes for Racing Bulls during practice as Liam Lawson returned to the team after his Red Bull stint and Arvid Lindblad’s FP2 was ended early by a crash. Lawson began the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend with a seventh-place showing in FP1, while Lindblad was eighth as the pair completed their first set of running in the session.

In FP2, the gap between the two days widened. Lawson remained engaged in development work as the New Zealander was 12th fastest, but he also had to take avoiding action in the final sector when Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari appeared in front of him on a hot lap. Lindblad’s session ended shortly after, when he clouted the walls through the castle section about 20 minutes into the running, triggering a red flag and causing significant right-hand-side damage to his car.

Racing Bulls said there was no plan to penalize Lindblad for the incident. Team principal Alan Permane stated it was “a millimetre,” adding that it was not the time to “come down on him like a ton of bricks” and describing the moment as rookie enthusiasm rather than anything more deliberate. Permane also noted the team would treat Lindblad’s speed on the lap as a positive as the weekend moves forward.

For Lawson, the focus after FP2 was on improving the car’s performance following differences from FP1. He said the team needed to respond because “we definitely didn’t have the same performance in FP2,” while also calling the return to his own car “nice” and “feels like home.” Lawson added that Racing Bulls will work overnight, particularly in the low-speed corners, aiming to be in the top 10 for Friday qualifying.

Written by Vancouver Television Sports Desk