Alex Jacques explains why he thinks Liam Lawson is driving so ‘aggressively’ on F1 return

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RB driver Liam Lawson has made an eventful and very impressive return to the Formula 1 grid.

Liam Lawson was parachuted into the second RB seat alongside Yuki Tsunoda after it was decided that Daniel Ricciardo’s time was up on his comeback to Formula 1.

The Kiwi has been given six races to prove that he’s worthy of a full-time race seat after his impressive cameo in Ricciardo’s place in 2023 when he broke his hand.

He couldn’t have got off to a better start, scoring two points at the United States Grand Prix.

Clashes with Sergio Perez and Franco Colapinto denied Lawson the chance to score points in Mexico City, but he doubled his tally for the season with a brilliant performance in the rain in Sao Paulo.

He and Tsunoda would have both scored a lot more points had they not pitted just a few laps before the red flag.

However, one thing that has stood out from Lawson’s return to F1 is how aggressive he’s been.

Commentator Alex Jacques has shared on the F1 Nation Podcast why he thinks the 22-year-old is racing in such a way.

Alex Jacques explains Liam Lawson’s aggressive return to Formula 1

Reflecting on Lawson and Perez’s latest incident in Brazil, Jacques said: “Yeah, they’re not going to be on each other’s Christmas card lists, are they?

“Another wheel bang incident, Liam’s waited for this opportunity and he’s been stuck in the garage for a really long time.

“I think his expectation at the start of the year is that he was going to be in that car far sooner than he got his chance.

“I’m not surprised he’s racing aggressively. [It] was a great qualifying performance from the V-CARBs, I think if Yuki had got a better exit out of turn 12, he would have been on the front row. I was an extraordinary lap and he missed out there.

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“But great performance when it mattered, aggressive moves as well, but good response from the team you have to say after falling behind Haas last time.

“Shoulders haven’t gone down, they’re being competitive again. They’ve just been usurped by this extraordinary result for Alpine but both drivers are pushing each other to a higher level there.”

Liam Lawson is already on Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez’s radars

Lawson and Fernando Alonso clashed in the Sprint Race in Austin, with the pair in deep discussions in the pit lane after the race.

Perez was furious with Lawson after he suffered damage to his car after they went wheel-to-wheel at the 34-year-old’s home race.

That feud continued to Brazil with Lawson stunned by Perez’s driving in the Sprint Race.

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There may be a reason why Perez and Lawson are driving so aggressively against each other with the two drivers the most likely candidates to be Max Verstappen’s teammate next season.

Perez has a contract at Red Bull until potentially the end of the 2026 season, but his performances have not been up to the required standards.
Lawson is Red Bull’s most likely replacement for Perez, and he may be just three races away from a rapid promotion into a potentially race-winning car.