Rookies Struggle in Wet Conditions at Brazilian Grand Prix: Lawson Impresses

Photo: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

10. 11. 2024 13:01 CET
4 min

Rookies Struggle in Wet Conditions at Brazilian Grand Prix: Lawson Impresses

Eliška Ryšánková
News.GP journalist who’s all about the thrilling worlds of MotoGP and Formula 1.

Formula 1 f1brazil f1rookies summaries

The Brazilian Grand Prix's wet and slippery conditions were a tough test for Formula 1 rookies. Liam Lawson stood out with a strong performance, while Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto struggled with mistakes and pace, learning key lessons in their F1 careers.

F1 & MotoGP news to your inbox every day.

The challenging conditions at the Brazilian Grand Prix were a tough test for all drivers, but especially for rookies with limited experience in Formula 1.

Among the drivers with fewer than 10 Grand Prix starts, only Liam Lawson had prior experience in wet conditions, having faced similar weather during the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, where he struggled.

The difficulties began in qualifying, where numerous drivers had crashes on the wet track. Both Williams and Aston Martin drivers were involved in incidents at various sections, as was Carlos Sainz, who crashed at the exit of Senna S.

While both Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman were eliminated in Q1, Lawson managed to secure fifth on the grid.

During the race, Bearman spun after making contact with Colapinto on lap 4, for which he earned a penalty, and later had a 360-degree spin at Turn 7 on lap 36 while trying to chase Sainz. Lawson was spun around by Oscar Piastri in Turn 1 on lap 26, while Colapinto crashed out during safety car conditions as the rain intensified.

In terms of pace, the rookies were noticeably slower than their teammates in comparison. Albon was unable to start the race due to damage sustained in qualifying. “We pitted for intermediate tyres. It was undriveable,” said a disappointed Colapinto. “We were 15 seconds off the pace, and we had put on hot intermediates. We tried to keep the temps up, but I lost the car aggressively in a big river before the straight. At that point, I was just a passenger.”

Lawson admitted that he nearly suffered the same fate as Colapinto. “I nearly crashed the car probably 10 times,” he said. “It was very sketchy, but the key was staying on track, and thankfully, I managed to do that.”

Bearman, who was standing in for Kevin Magnussen, was very aware that his performance didn’t meet expectations. “To score points today, I needed to stay on track, and unfortunately, I didn’t,” said Bearman. “I made too many mistakes. It was tough, but I can learn from it. Wet races are rare in F1, so every lap was valuable.”

Bearman struggled mostly with his intermediate tyres, which made the high-speed corners unpredictable and affected his confidence. Ayao Komatsu, Haas team principal, acknowledged the challenging conditions for Bearman, attributing some of his struggles to the VF-24’s tendency to lock up the front wheels in wet conditions. “Ollie made too many mistakes, and he knows that,” Komatsu explained. “After the red flag, I told him, ‘Stay on the track. You’ve got pace, just calm down.’ He was pushing too hard at first but started improving after the safety car. Still, he couldn’t string together consistent laps, which comes with experience.”

logo-newsgp logo-instagram logo-linkedin logo-whatsapp

To the topic

F1 & MotoGP news to your inbox every day.

logo-newsgp

PART OF TICKETSGP GROUP

Information

F1 and MotoGP news

New articles every day

News from around the world

Reports from races

logo-newsgp logo-instagram logo-linkedin logo-x logo-whatsapp

F1 & MotoGP news around the globe

Contact

TicketsGP, s.r.o.
Nové Sady 988/2
602 00, Brno, Czechia
CZ14176262
European Union

info@tickets.gp

News.GP RSS

News.GP Formula 1 RSS

News.GP MotoGP RSS



We have established partnerships with circuits, organizers, and official partners. As we do not collaborate directly with the owner of the Formula 1 licensing, it is necessary for us to include the following statement:

This website is unofficial and is not associated in any way with the Formula 1 companies. F1, FORMULA ONE, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing B.V.