Enter Sandman
A change to the Formula One Calendar has seen the Qatar round moved to a later date after extreme heat took a heavy toll on drivers in 2024. “Qatar is a very tough track, and it was probably the hardest race I did last year. The temperature last year was pretty warm, so hopefully, it will be cooler this year.”
November in the Middle East will still be warmer than the frigid temperatures Lawson encountered in Las Vegas last weekend. The New Zealander struggled to find his rhythm on the Sin City Street Circuit and finished 16th.
Now the goal is to return to the form he showed early on in his return to F1, as the RB VCARB outfit tries to claim sixth in the team standings, “It’s a weekend where we need to score some points to be in for the fight for P6, so we’ll be making sure we maximise the car as much as we can.”
Lawson will have some extra support this weekend after with his parents Jared and Kirsty this weekend, who were given surprise flights to join him at what is their first F1 race of 2024.
Alan Permane, RB’s Racing Director, says, “This year, things should be relatively easier, with temperatures forecast to be around 20 degrees C for the start of the race on Sunday. The circuit is a real test of both driver and car, with high-speed kerbing being the biggest challenge.”
Lawson's top priority will be getting dialled in early on what a very high-speed Lusail circuit is. “It’s a Sprint weekend, which makes it challenging; we need to be pushing quite hard, quite early to make sure we’re in a good window for Sprint Qualifying.
Sprint Qualifying is at 6.30 am Saturday, the Sprint Race at 3 am Sunday, followed by Qualifying at 7 am, and the Grand Prix at 5 am Monday.