New Zealander, Liam Lawson admits to trying to maximise every race, every session as he scores first points in only his third F1 outing.

The two points rookie Liam Lawson scored for ninth sees the Kiwi join an illustrious band of fellow New Zealanders, drivers like Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon, not forgetting Howden Ganley, and Brendon Hartley, who have scored world championship points.

With each outing the youngster gets a little better, causing more teams to sit up and take notice.

Like many of his rivals, Sunday was something of a rollercoaster for the youngster. A poor start saw him drop a couple of places though he steadily progressed back through the field following the pit stops.

Rising as high as eighth, he was subsequently passed by a hard charging Max Verstappen and then Sergio Perez, however George Russell's last lap encounter with the wall saw him elevated to ninth.

"I'm just trying to maximise every race, every session, and finish as high as we can," he told reporters at race end. "Today that was points, which is great. We'll try and do even more hopefully in the future for if I get the chance to drive again."

Asked about his start, he admitted: "For me, the start I need to get on top of because it's now two weekends in a row that I've watched the start, basically, and lost a couple of positions.

"It's just making our life more difficult," he continued, "so that's really the biggest loss of the race, and that's on my part.

"For the rest, I think we extracted everything out of the car," he grinned. "We didn't quite have the race pace to be honest, we kind of felt going into the race it was going to be a little bit difficult because we felt this on Friday as well, but we tried to correct it as much as we could, so I think we maximised."

A clear sign of the Kiwi's determination was when he battled with Verstappen, refusing to simply yield to the world champion.

Asked when he first began to think that there were points to be had, he admitted: "I think when maybe 20 laps to go before Max and the Red Bulls were coming back. At that point, I thought we had a chance, then I felt like it was slipping away again.

"I guess when Checo and Albon had their fight, and Albon went back, that was when I felt a bit more I guess comfortable that like we could at least score P10.

"Obviously it was a bonus... I mean, not a bonus to see somebody crash out for George, but for us obviously it means we get an extra point."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Marina Bay here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Bill Hopgood, 18/09/2023 20:34

"In January Liam Lawson was in front us volunteers at Highlands Motorsport Park letting us know what his intentions were and acknowledging the help he gets from the Tony Quinn Foundation and now the same guy is in front of us on the telly.
He's doing a very solid job and keeping his ego in check and feet on the ground yet being confident in his abilities.
Having seen him in person a few times now, he is just the same as is seen now, approachable, focused and a good bloke.
Hopefully there will be a more permanent spot somewhere on the grid for him to continue to improve and entertain us all once Ricciardo comes back from injury.
It would also be nice to see him back for the New Zealand Grand Prix in February (at Highlands for the first time) though I suspect F1 testing will be a higher priority."

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2. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 18/09/2023 20:16

"@Spindoctor - if Lawson gets the same upgrades as Norris, there will be some very puzzled people in Woking!"

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 18/09/2023 15:03

"Another really good antipodean driver, this time from NZ! Considering how few miles he's clocked-up he's showing great talent. Let's see what he can do with the same upgrades as Norris."

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4. Posted by Burton, 18/09/2023 12:49

"He's not turning heads with blinding speed but performing as a safe pair of hands which is what is expected of a stand-in driver, while being a rookie. This is impressive in itself, so well done to Liam.

I hate to say it but in the dominant anglosphere he is being talked up already while Tsunoda, who has clearly stepped up and dragging the car where it shouldn't be, begins to get unacknowledged. Red Bull has a decision to make and maybe it is Ricky Yardo going back into retirement?"

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5. Posted by Mad Matt, 18/09/2023 11:23

"Well done to Liam, perhaps we'll see him drive alongside Daniel next year..... :-)"

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"I think we maximised," says Lawson

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