MIAMI, Fla. — When Liam Lawson made his return to the Formula 1 scene at last season’s US Grand Prix, he quickly found himself in a tight situation with veteran driver Fernando Alonso.
That competitive spirit resurfaced during the recent F1 sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix, leading to penalties for the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team.
As the sprint race concluded, Lawson was attempting to overtake Alonso as they approached Turn 11.
Following the race, both drivers were called in to discuss the incident with officials and their teams. After reviewing the situation, stewards determined that Lawson had acted carelessly, issuing a five-second penalty and adding a point to his F1 Super License, which now stands at six points.
Accumulating 12 penalty points in a single year results in a race suspension for the driver.
According to the stewards’ statement:
Car 30 attempted to pass on the outside at Turn 11.
Car 14 was correctly positioned based on driving standards. Consequently, Car 30 lacked the right to additional space at the exit. The track design permits cars with the preferred racing line at Turn 11 to also retain that line at Turn 12.
As a result, Car 30 approached the edge of the track between Turns 11 and 12 and collided with Car 14.
Both Alonso and Lawson will be reset for the qualifying rounds of the Miami Grand Prix, which will kick off at Hard Rock Stadium shortly.
