Liam Lawson has been given a stark reminder of his bleak fate if he allows errors to creep in. Red Bull’s Lawson spent most of the season-opening F1 Australian Grand Prix on the back foot, before he crashed out of the race.

Unfortunately for the New Zealander, that was where the similarities ended. While Lawson impressed everyone in Zandvoort by keeping his AlphaTauri car on the track, he failed to do so in Melbourne. The 23-year-old ran off the track twice during Q1 and was eliminated, leaving him with a P18 grid slot.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the team will get a truer reflection of Liam Lawson’s performance at the next race, in China this weekend, after a forgettable opening round in Melbourne. Lawson failed to finish his first full race with Red Bull as wet conditions wrought havoc at the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park yesterday.