Lawson’s loaded weekend in Brazil

If you say nothing else about Liam Lawson’s late season subbing in Formula 1, say it’s been eventful.

The Sau Paulo Sprint weekend saw Lawson battling weather and World Champions in what was another strong weekend for the young Kiwi.

Qualifying for the Sprint race started after just an hour of practice on what was a new circuit for the 22-year-old. Seemingly becoming used to performing under pressure, Lawson put in a time good enough for P8 and faster than his VCARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

With only the top eight positions paying points in the Sprint, Lawson had to defend hard against faster cars, ultimately conceding a position to Sergio Perez in the Red Bull and finishing P9.

Qualifying was rained off and postponed to Sunday making raceday an early start for the drivers, hitting the track at 7:30am local time to set their times.

Lawson once again shined in difficult conditions, putting in an exceptional time in the wet, earning himself a start from the third row of the grid in P5.

Torrential rain, safety cars and a red flag played havoc with the Grand Prix, with five retirees meaning simply making it to the end was an achievement. Lawson kept his nose clean throughout the messy conditions, and held off 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Perez for lap after lap in the closing stages of the race to secure P9 and another two championship points.

The Brazilian Grand Prix heralds the end of the triple-header that marked the beginning of Lawson’s full-time Formula 1 career. After a much-deserved break, the Kiwi will be back on track under the lights for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

Hartley helps secure Toyota WEC glory

It was the dream end to what has been a difficult season for Brendon Hartley and the crew of the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010.

The team entered the final round out of contention of the Driver’s Championship, but still with a shot of the Manufacturer’s Championship, sitting just behind Porsche.

Hartley stunned the paddock when he put down the fastest lap in the Hyperpole session, bettering their sister car’s time by more than three tenths of a second, securing pole-position.

Despite the dominant qualifying, the race was anything but straightforward for the #8 car. A spin early in the race, followed by unexpectedly high tyre wear put them on the back-foot in the early stages.

By the final hour of the race, the team were in tenth with Sebastian Buemi behind the wheel. The next 30 minutes would prove to be a masterclass, with Buemi taking the lead with less than half an hour to go. The Swiss driver went on to gap the field, winning the race with a lead of nearly 30 seconds.

This victory helped Toyota Gazoo Racing clinch the Manufacturer’s Championship, beating Porsche by just two points.

Ups and downs in Martinsville for SVG

Shane van Gisbergen ran both the Xfinity and Cup Series races on 09/10.11.24 at the Martinsville Speedway, the shortest oval on the calendar, and one that regularly creates drama.

The Supercars champion has felt more comfortable on the shorter ovals this season, and Martinsville was no different.

SVG’s pace in the Xfinity race was strong, but with so many cars running such a small oval, luck plays just as much of a factor. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on the Kiwi’s side and contact throughout the race meant he wasn’t able to capitalize on his pace, finishing in P28.

The Cup race was a strong step forward for van Gisbergen who managed to keep his nose clean throughout most of the race and cross the line in a strong P12.