Martin Brundle shares what Liam Lawson’s Singapore Grand Prix crashes mean for his F1 future

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Liam Lawson crashed twice during practice for the Singapore Grand Prix. And Martin Brundle is concerned about what it might mean for his future.

Lawson had the best weekend of his Formula 1 career in Azerbaijan last time out. He qualified third and finished fifth, picking up double figure points.

Out of contract at the end of the season, the New Zealander is fighting to stay on the grid. Teammate Isack Hadjar is likely to join Red Bull, and Arvid Linblad is expected to step up from Formula 2.

That means Lawson could be battling Yuki Tsunoda for the last remaining seat at Racing Bulls. And his two shunts at Marina Bay have clearly weakened his case.

Martin Brundle says Liam Lawson has lost his momentum with Singapore Grand Prix crashes

Speaking in Sky Sports‘ commentary at the start of Singapore Grand Prix qualifying, Brundle described Lawson’s incidents as a ‘great shame’. He felt it was a crucial weekend where he needed to show that Baku was no anomaly.

Several drivers brushed the wall on the exit of turn 17, but Lawson hit it too hard in FP2 and broke his suspension before stopping on the pit entry. Then, in FP3, he lost control of his car on the turn seven exit kerb and wrecked the front of the VCARB02.

The Racing Bulls mechanics were able to get him out in time for qualifying, but he only managed 14th as Hadjar once again reached in Q3. As Brundle notes, Helmut Marko will be far from impressed.

Marko is making the driver decisions at Red Bull now that long-serving team principal Christian Horner has been sacked.

“Great shame for Liam Lawson – I know we’ve got a lot of fans that listen to us down in New Zealand,” Brundle said.

“It’s a weekend where he needs a really strong result to back up his performance in Azerbaijan, and he’s been in the wall a couple of times. We know that that doesn’t particularly impress Dr Helmut Marko.”

Yuki Tsunoda offers Liam Lawson consolation in difficult Singapore weekend

As he revealed in his Thursday media duties, Lawson doesn’t know when Red Bull will decide on his future.

Previous reports have suggested that Red Bull will make a decision around the USA/Mexico double header. If so, this weekend is one of his final chances to impress.

Paddock insiders have been saying that Lawson’s Racing Bulls chances are improving, but this weekend could set him back. Crucially, perhaps, he managed to outqualify Tsunoda (P15).