Liam Lawson was interviewed live on Formula 2’s Instagram on Thursday afternoon European time and talked about his current season in Formula 2 and the DTM championship.
He explained the differences between the two and endeavored into the challenges he has faced thus far.
Here are the first 7 questions he answered before being asked questions from fans on the livestream.
For the full video check:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CUKR7R2ogY8/?hl=en
Question 1
It’s been a really interesting season for you in general. How was the leap from f3 to f2?
For sure, the car is really different. We had Bahrain post season tests at the start of the year … the added weight, the turbo, and the bigger tyres. It definitely took a little bit to get used to but by the start of the season we were ready.
Question 2
Well you certainly seemed ready because you started on fire! Were you surprised it clicked immediately?
“I think Bahrain was a track that everyone was familiar with because we had done the post season and preseason testing there. It was about the 3rd time we had been there in the space of a couple of months.”
“We knew we were gonna be fast … and it wasn’t too different, maybe a little bit surprised but also glad to see. You know you’re going to be fast but other teams could have been sand-bagging etc. So, it was nice to know we were actually fast!”
Question 3
After Bahrain you got into the rhythm of the season … have you found it hard to stop yourself from getting rusty?
“For me it has been a slightly different situation to most of the other drivers[in formula 2] because they’ve obviously had huge breaks but my breaks have been filled with driving a GT car in the DTM championship. So, I have been needing to get used to two completely different cars. For sure at the start that was difficult but eventually once I knew everything I needed to do straight away and get used to it, it was completely fine.”
“It is a good and a bad thing that I’m doing that because it means I am always racing, I’ve done so many races this year and I am always race fit, ready to drive. Which I think is positive compared to some of the other drivers.”
Question 4
It is crazy that you are competing in those championships and you are leading the DTM championship right now, you are doing incredibly well in that series. Which is crazy, I can’t think of a driver who has combined two championships such as these and been a race winner (even multiple race winner) in both.
Tell me the difference between those two[championships].
“The main difference is obviously the speed. The downforce we have in F2 … knowing how much more speed you can carry into those higher speed corners. Also the brakes, we have carbon brakes in F2 which we don’t have in the GT. The GT car has ABS and traction control. Which I absolutely hated at the start, I would turn it off to the disgust of my engineers. So, I had to eventually get used to driving with it but, yea, it’s so different!”
We have power steering in the GT car whereas we don’t in F2. Physically it is a lot more demanding driving the F2 car. I would say the tyres are more critical with the Pirellis you have to warm them up and they have to be perfect to set you up for that one flying lap. Whereas, with the GTs they run the Michelin tyres where we have about roughly two laps in qualifying where you can keep pushing and the tyres will continue to improve. Also during the races[in DTM] we don’t have to look after the tyres as much[as F2] so, during the races we get to drive flat out. In F2 it’s much more crucial to look after the tyres and keep them for the entire race.”
Question 5
Talking about the tyres, how did you find it moving into formula 3 having this new concept of tyre management and the same moving up to formula 2. A lot of rookies who have moved up in the series have really struggled. How did you find that when you made it into these series?
“My first season was in 2019 when I started with the FIA Formula 3 and I was honestly hopeless. I would always start the races really well and then go backwards!”
“It definitely took a couple of races to get used to but the problem is we have a lot less data to look at live, than they do in formula 1 for example. So, a lot more of it is down to the driver and is based on feeling and normally in every race it can be slightly different. Quite often by the time you realise something like: your rear tyres are too hot, or you’re graining, then it’s already too late.”
“So, trying to prevent that early in the race is really the key. At this point now after having done this for a couple of years, most of us [ in the F2 field] are used to it.”
Question 6
Do you feel like you have had bad luck in this formula 2 season?
“I don’t feel like I’ve had bad luck. I don’t like to say I’m a driver that hasn’t had any luck or that I am an unlucky driver. But, for sure there have been some moments this year that have been out of our control. But there are also things that have happened that were in our control that I could have done better or we as a team could have done better.”
“I think it is a bit frustrating because I feel like this year we have had really good speed. The one weekend we didn’t have speed was at Silverstone but every other weekend we were really on it. Monza, looking good for points before the extinguisher went off, obviously I had the disqualification in Monaco, and the incident in race 1 in Baku where I was put in the wall. Things like this are not ideal. You could say I have been a bit unlucky but I don’t want to go out and say I’m an unlucky driver or something like that.”
Question 7
I just want to take it back to Monaco. I know the result wasn’t confirmed as far as the records are concerned but you made a pass for the lead at Monaco … you don’t get many of those!
How did that feel?
“It was the wet race I had a bad start and I lost the lead to Oscar[Piastri] but I quite quickly figured out that we were on the pace. I always love driving in the rain, it is something I’ve loved since I was a kid … although, doing it around Monaco was pretty sketchy!”
“{talking about his move for the lead}… I remember going left making sure he could see me in his left mirror so he thought I wasn’t going to be there. And then going right and making it up the inside … by the time I committed I wasn’t sure I was going to make it but I was already there and I couldn’t slow down. He gave me just enough room. The race itself was amazing, Monaco was a track that I always wanted to race at and it was amazing to win there! Just incredibly gutting to get it taken away.”
For the last five minutes fans asked some bonus questions to Liam which you can find in the original video on Instagram here from minute [10:23]: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CUKR7R2ogY8/?hl=en
Transcript source: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CUKR7R2ogY8/?hl=en
Featured image source: liamlawson.co.nz/gallery
