Liam Lawson escapes penalty for "aggressive" British GP sprint defence versus Isack Hadjar

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Liam Lawson held on to his point for finishing eighth in the British Grand Prix sprint race after receiving a warning for moving in front of Isack Hadjar under braking - as Hadjar told stewards that it was not worth a penalty. 

Lawson had moved into the top eight after Hadjar slipped down the order on the opening lap, and after clearing a fast-starting Pierre Gasly. With Hadjar catching in the latter stages, however, Lawson had his work cut out to keep the Red Bull behind.

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Hadjar attempted to put a move on Lawson on the penultimate lap to reclaim control of the final point on the entry to Stowe corner but found Lawson chopping across his bow to resist the Frenchman's efforts.

This was noted and investigated as an 'abnormal change of direction', but Lawson escaped any further penalty; he finished seven tenths clear of his former Racing Bulls team-mate to maintain the final point on offer.

The FIA stewards' report declared that although the change in direction was enough to earn a warning, Hadjar defended Lawson by stating that he had been given enough room.

"The matter concerned the defensive move by Car 30 [Lawson] on the approach to Turn 15 on Lap 16 while defending position against Car 6 [Hadjar]," the report read. 

"The driver of Car 30 stated that, at the relevant time, he was still at full throttle and had not yet commenced braking, and that the movement of the car was part of deceleration and preparation for the corner rather than a movement under braking. 

"The driver of Car 6 stated that the move by Car 30 was sharp, but also that sufficient room was left and that contact was avoided. In his view, the incident did not merit a penalty. 

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

"He also referred to the fact that the two cars were on different energy levels, which made the closing speed difficult to judge. The Stewards accept that this was not a case of a significant change of direction after the braking phase had clearly commenced, and also accept that Car 30 left sufficient room for Car 6 to ensure that no contact occurred. 

"The Stewards also accept that the different energy states of the two cars made the closing speed into the corner more difficult for the driver of Car 30 to assess. However, the Stewards considered that the defensive move by Car 30 was sufficiently late and abrupt that it warranted a formal caution. 

"Although the Stewards were not satisfied that the circumstances justified a stronger penalty, they considered that the move was marginally over the limit of what is acceptable when defending into a corner. Accordingly, the Stewards impose a Warning on the driver of Car 30."

Hadjar and Lawson both agreed that it was an "aggressive" move; the former told Sky that he was "not going to chase that final point so hard", while Lawson asserted that he hadn't started braking yet for the corner.

This was corroborated in the stewards' report, which noted the differing energy levels of the two cars. 

"We were still full throttle when I was trying to defend but maybe it was aggressive, I don't know, we'll see," Lawson told Sky after the race.

"But it was a good race, I think we struggled towards the end, we didn't really expect to have the pace to fight Red Bulls anyway today."

Read Also: F1 British GP: Kimi Antonelli takes first sprint win with pass on Lewis Hamilton

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