Lawson “not here to make friends” after Perez says he’s “driving without control” · RaceFans

Liam Lawson shrugged off Sergio Perez’s criticism of his driving following the clash between the pair in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Perez heaped criticism on his rival, who has been tipped as a potential replacement for him. The Red Bull driver repeatedly called Lawson an “idiot” during the race, accused him of performing a “go kart” driving move and said afterwards he was “driving without control.”

Lawson also incurred the wrath of Fernando Alonso on his return to F1 in Austin a week earlier. But he said today he “doesn’t think there’s anything behind” either of his rivals’ criticism.

“Obviously in the moment things are very heated, and obviously I apologised for what I did last week,” said Lawson, who apologised to Perez for raising his middle finger at him following their clash. “It’s not something I should have done and something I won’t be doing again,” he said.

“But I have no idea of their mindsets or their goals, I’m just focused on mine. Obviously I want a future in Formula 1, so to be able to win races.

“But rather than looking at that and looking at where I could be in one year or whatever, it’s more about focusing on there weekends. If I do the best job in these few races, then that’s going to set me up for a better future.”

“Obviously my goal is not to go out and make enemies of anybody,” he added. “I’m not trying to cause any issues or anything like that.

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“But at the same time, I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win, and that’s what I’m what I’m focused on doing. And in this situation, we’re fighting very hard for P6 in the constructors’ and I’m fighting obviously for my future in Formula 1 as well. So that’s what I’m focused on.”

Lawson looked on course to claim a point in his second race before losing time behind Perez in the second half of the race, when the Red Bull driver appeared to deliberately delay him. The RB driver finished 16th after tangling with Franco Colapinto, and admitted there were areas he could have improved in last weekend’s race.

“In every race there’s so many things you go over, so many things you can do better,” he said. “So overall, yes, for sure, there’s obviously stuff in there that could have been better.

“But overall, I will take things and learn from them going into this weekend.”