Peter Bayer says Liam Lawson was low when he re-joined Visa Cash App RB, but has picked up now, as he talks about the overall performance.
After two difficult races with Red Bull, Lawson was drafted back to Visa Cash App RB with Yuki Tsunoda replacing him at the senior F1 team. The confidence factor was talked about for the Kiwi. The two races were enough for the senior outfit to understand his mindset and confidence level.
Team chief Bayer agreed that Lawson was not in a good place when he re-joined Visa Cash App RB, but has slowly regained the good mindset, even though the results hasn’t shown it thus far. He is facing good competition from rookie teammate Isack Hadjar, who has been a revelation.
“Confidence? No. Honestly, I think it took a moment for him to digest,” said Bayer. “First time I saw him when he came to Italy, he looked a bit sad. Honestly, that’s how I perceived him. He was a bit puzzled with everything that happened very quickly. But also, at the same time, he knew the people, the tools, the set-up. And I really felt that very quickly he was returning to being the old Liam.
“He’s a great racer, somebody that has great humour, and that’s what we see now again. Welcoming Liam back to the team has been a pleasant experience, ultimately. We knew him well. He’s in a good space, he’s happy, he’s motivated, he’s looking forward to racing,” summed up Bayer, who added on how Hadjar is coming along and also the team after missing out sure points finishing races.
“Honestly, Laurent and the team, they also managed to unlock some pace in the car, which we’ve seen in Melbourne and continuing from there,” continued Bayer. “We had our ups and downs. We had points at hand and perhaps took a bit too much risk on the strategy side.
“But at the same time, we’re also happy with how Isack is developing as a young driver who didn’t have a lot of time in an F1 car coming from F2. He has unlocked a lot of potential on and off track. We’re very happy with how he’s developing.”
Here’s Miami GP livery of Visa Cash App RB
Here’s Isack Hadjar on harsh one point
