Helmut Marko has positive feedback for Liam Lawson days after the Red Bull taskmaster questioned the Kiwi's maneuvers against Sergio Perez in the 2024 F1 Mexican Grand Prix on October 27. Lawson and Perez had multiple on-track skirmishes at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
Marko, pointing out the incident, called Lawson out and criticized his moves against the driver from the same fraternity. He believed Lawson should not have battled hard and risked their track positions.
However, days after the firm denunciation, the 81-year-old praised the New Zealander for his back-to-back impressive performances in the United States and Mexico. Here's what Marko wrote in his SpeedWeek column:
"Liam Lawson came back very strongly in the USA and finished ninth. I was also impressed by how he steadily improved in Mexico. Without the botched lap by [Yuki] Tsunoda, the New Zealander would have finished in the top 10 in qualifying. So far, Lawson has proven his qualities and confirmed the trust placed in him."
The two Red Bull-backed drivers were in a fierce battle, as none were ready to yield track positions. While Lawson started the race from P12, six places ahead of Perez, they ultimately came head-to-head in Lap 17.
As they were fighting for track position, they collided in Lap 18. While they were at it, Perez forced Lawson wide as he left no room for the latter. Lawson, retaliated by pushing Perez off the track, and it was when the duo made contact and banged wheels.
In the end, Perez and Lawson finished the race outside the points. While the Red Bull star came home in P17, Lawson suffered critical front-wing damage when he made contact with Franco Colapinto and ended his race in P16.
Liam Lawson apologizes for showing his middle finger to Sergio Perez in Mexico
During the 2024 F1 Mexican Grand Prix, Liam Lawson showed his middle finger to Sergio Perez while passing him during the race. The Kiwi received enormous criticism from fans and experts, leading him to apologize. He told the media:
"It’s obviously one of those in-the-moment things, he spent half the lap blocking me trying to ruin my race. I was upset, but it’s not an excuse, I shouldn’t have done it and I apologize for that. I left the space into four, he was coming in very, very late. Honestly, I tried to give him space, he drove me off the track and then he didn’t give me space into turn five. It’s unfortunate, it wasn’t my intention, but I didn’t know where to go.”
F1 is all set to host the 21st race and fifth Sprint of the 2024 season in Sao Paulo, Brazil this weekend. The race weekend starts with Media Day on Thursday and concludes with the race on Sunday.