How Liam Lawson’s RB Pirelli test times compared to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz

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Excitement surrounding the upcoming United States Grand Prix is already building with several key storylines set to resume.

The battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship is set to continue as McLaren look to extend their lead in the team standings.

However, further down the grid, the return of Liam Lawson to the paddock with RB is going to be one of the main talking points.

Replacing Daniel Ricciardo heading to the race in Austin where he’s such a popular figure is a bold call from the Red Bull family.

With just six race weekends left this year, Red Bull needed to get Lawson into the car alongside Yuki Tsunoda to judge whether he’s ready for 2025 and if he is, which team he’s best suited to.

Lawson’s running this season has been limited, with teams only allowed to do minimal mileage in this year’s car away from the track.

READ MORE: Who is Visa Cash App RB driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

The young Kiwi is also too experienced to be allowed to take part in FP1 sessions, although Lawson has tested behind the scenes on several occasions this season.

Pirelli ran a test for their new 2025 and 2026 tyres at Mugello this week and a report from Motorsport has shared how each of the drivers that ran fared.

Lawson was among the quartet that took to the track on Wednesday, racing up against Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as well as Norris.

How Liam Lawson fared against both Ferrari drivers in Pirelli’s most recent tyre test

It’s hard to compare Lawson’s times with his rivals on this occasion, with so many unknown factors when it comes to setting up their cars.

Norris’s times are even more difficult to gain any context from as he was the chosen driver to test Pirelli’s 2026 compounds, while the other trio worked on next year’s tyres.

The Brit set a fastest time of 1:21.302 during his 118 laps after rain made running on the first day of the test on Tuesday impossible.

Both Ferrari drivers took to the track and while Leclerc set a fastest time of 1:21.053, Sainz could only manage a 1:21.890.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Visa Cash App RB F1 Team from team principal to Red Bull relationship

However, Sainz was still dealing with a damp track and couldn’t fit the slick tyres until halfway through his session.

Lawson was some way off the pace of the two Ferraris, completing 116 laps with a best time of 1:23.219.

Given F1 hasn’t raced at Mugello since the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, looking back at Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly’s qualifying times in the AlphaTauri provides no context, with their quickest laps more than six seconds faster than the Kiwi.

Liam Lawson told which F1 driver he should follow the example of on his return to the grid

It’s not going to be easy for Lawson to get up to speed at the Circuit of the Americas, but he’ll be under no illusions about how important the next two months are for his racing career.

He proved during his cameo last season that he’s more than a match for Tsunoda, but the Japanese driver has gone up another level this year.

RB’s car was arguably the quickest outside of the top four teams earlier in the year, but they’ve gone in the wrong direction with their upgrades over the course of the campaign, making scoring points extremely difficult.

Alex Jacques has told Lawson to follow the example of Oscar Piastri and try to become the most well-rounded driver he can be.

That’s going to be easier said than done, and being chucked into a Sprint weekend where he only has one practice session to get to grips with the V-CARB 01 adds an extra layer of difficulty.