Liam Lawson says he's comfortable but admits he's not fast enough in first practice

New Red Bull team driver Liam Lawson admitted he was not quick enough during the first day of free practice in Australia, ending the day 17th out of 19 drivers who set times in the second practice. Although he faced difficulties on the track, he was happy to avoid a crash, while his teammate, Max Verstappen, had several problems with traffic and technical difficulties.

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Lawson pointed out that he was not satisfied with his performance, as his fastest time on soft tires was more than half a second slower than Verstappen's. Although Red Bull's RB21 was in the center of attention, both team drivers had problems during both practices. 

Max Verstappen, although known for his great abilities, also did not have a perfect practice, as he had to abandon fast laps several times due to heavy traffic or problems with the car's handling.

After the first day of practice, Liam admitted that he felt comfortable in the car, but he was aware that he needed more speed to compete at the top. 

“I feel comfortable, I’m just too slow,” Lawson said, stressing that the team would work on improvements overnight. 

“We have a lot of work to do overnight,” he added. 

Given that it was his first time on the track in Melbourne, Lawson noted that they expected to have difficulties, but did not think there would be so many problems.

Liam Lawson was still not sure exactly what caused his difficulties, but he stressed that the team needs to work on improving grip, as they were slow in short stints and did not have enough speed in longer sections. 

“Honestly, it is not clear what we need to change. If we knew that, we would already have a solution,” Lawson said, adding that the team needs to work on increasing grip on the track.

At the same time, of the six drivers starting their first full season in Formula 1 this year, the fastest on Friday was Isack Hadjar, who finished in sixth place. Other drivers making their Australian debut on Friday included Jack Doohan (14th for Alpine) and Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished 16th with a narrow lead over Lawson.