Liam Lawson, reserve driver for Red Bull, will make his debut season in the Japanese Super Formula Series this year and started with a win.
The first round of the season will take place on April 8 and 9 at the Fuji Circuit. It’s a double lap and Liam, who competes for Team Mugen, won Saturday’s race, starting from 3rd. The New Zealander acted aggressively and after a few laps after sharp duels with Toshiki Oyu and Ritomo Miata was able to move up to second place and then win, ahead of his partner Tomoki Noiri due to an earlier pit stop.
“This is the debut! – comments in the press service of Super Formula. Liam Lawson made history by winning the first round of the 2023 season. Even Pierre Gasly failed in 2017! Our congratulations!”
In fact, no non-Japanese rider who has competed in this championship for the past 45 years can boast such an achievement. In 1978 the Swiss succeeded Mark Surer, who then won his first and only race in Japanese F2 – that was the name of the series that later became Super Formula.
It is worth adding that Team Mugen won this championship as a team last year and Lawson’s partner Tomoki Noiri is the reigning Super Formula champion.
“Of course I am very happy! After qualifying we knew we had good speed, although the race is of course a completely different story, commented Liam after the finish. – The team prepared the car perfectly and it was felt that the balance got better as the race progressed.
Now we have a fighting spirit for tomorrow’s race, but events could develop very differently on Sunday. Everyone will strive to improve their results, but I hope we will also be at the top. Now we have to concentrate on qualifying, I have to learn how to drive more stable circles, after which we will try to balance the car even more.
Another debutant of the season, the Turkish driver Cem Bolukbashi, who we know from Formula 2, took 8th place, although he only showed a 20th result in qualifying. Giuliano Alesi, the son of a former Formula 1 driver, did not make it to the finish: he started from 18th position, but retired after a collision with one of his rivals on track.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
