David Coulthard left baffled by Liam Lawson radio message he heard during the Chinese Grand Prix

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Liam Lawson produced one of his best weekends in Formula 1 at the Chinese Grand Prix, but one of his radio messages caught the attention of David Coulthard and Jolyon Palmer.

Racing Bulls got off the mark for the 2026 season thanks to Arvid Lindblad at the Australian Grand Prix, but in Shanghai, it was Liam Lawson’s turn to impress.

Lawson made up six places during Saturday’s Sprint Race, benefiting from a brilliant strategy call from Racing Bulls to start on the hard tyres, getting him off the mark in the drivers’ championship.

Some sensational performances in Shanghai 🔥 Who is your pick for Driver of the Day at the Chinese Grand Prix?

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Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix saw Lawson record back-to-back P7 finishes, leaving him on eight points and level with Max Verstappen in the standings.

Fans were left impressed with Lawson’s tyre management across the weekend, but in his wheel-to-wheel battle with Lindblad, David Coulthard and Jolyon Palmer questioned the demand he made of the team.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

David Coulthard didn’t understand Liam Lawson’s Arvid Lindblad demand at the Chinese Grand Prix

Gabriel Bortoleto’s crash during Q2 meant that Lawson and Lindblad had to settle for P14 and P15 on the grid, meaning they had plenty of work to do to make it into the points.

However, Bortoleto, as well as both McLaren drivers, failed to start the race, and Isack Hadjar’s lap one spin meant both drivers were suddenly challenging in the top 10.

Lindblad was on harder tyres than Lawson and battling to pass him, making an audacious move into the final hairpin of the lap.

The plaudits go to Kimi Antonelli, but who else in the top 10 impressed you at the Chinese Grand Prix?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Lawson came on the team radio and said: “Guys…” to which his engineer replied: “We are reviewing.”

“Yeah, it’s OK, I’m just going to lose time…” Lawson remarked, to which Coulthard said on Channel 4’s commentary: “Yeah, well, that’s him saying, look, all the time I’m racing my teammate, I’m not making headway.

“But, it comes down to race pace. If Lindblad’s faster than he should get by, and he should go.”

Palmer replied: “Yeah, well, what does he want there? Lindblad just to sit behind him and waste his own race?

“We’re so early on here, they’re on different strategies, there’s no need for Lawson to race or complain with a guy who’s just behind him.”

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Alan Permane credits Liam Lawson with ‘exceptional result’ at the Chinese Grand Prix

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane will be delighted with how the 2026 season has started.

Not only have Racing Bulls scored points in every race this year, but they’ve only had to retire one car so far, although Lindblad suffered some reliability issues during FP1 in China.

Considering three teams have suffered DNS’s already this year, Racing Bulls are in a very good place, especially with a brand new power unit in the car.

Speaking about Lawson’s performance in Shanghai, Permane said: “To come away with a total of eight points from a weekend where we clearly weren’t quick enough is an exceptional result for the team.

“It was a very well executed race. We were unlucky with the safety car as we pitted Liam the lap before, but he drove a really great race.

“He was under a lot of pressure at one stage from Hadjar and didn’t put a foot wrong, delivering a solid result.”

Permane lamented the safety car’s timing, making life difficult for Lindblad before a spin ended his hopes of breaking into the top 10.