F1: Lawson extends points streak with top-ten finish in USA

Liam Lawson has now scored points in the last three F1 Grand Prix weekends as he managed a P9 finish in Austin, Texas. 

The race at the Circuit of the Americas track saw plenty of drama throughout its 56 laps, but Lawson kept clear of it.

When addressing the media following the race, Lawson admitted that P9 was probably the best result they could have hoped for. 

“When everyone finishes, for us its a P9 or P10. That’s sort of the best we can do,” he said.

“We executed really well today, had a great race, so couldn’t really do more. Overall it’s been a strong weekend.”

“It was a bit of a boring one, but we like boring,” said Lawson’s race engineer, Alexandre Iliopoulos, at the chequered flag.

“But what a fast race car, man, holy s***, great job,” the Kiwi replied. “[It was] so good to drive. At the start of the race there was a little bit of understeer, and then just so good the whole way.”

Liam’s result keeps him at ninth in the Driver’s Championship standings with 77 points, he’s now ahead of Pierre Gasly by 35 points. 

Further towards the front of the grid, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli dominated the race from the start, claiming his ninth victory of the season. 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came in 16-seconds behind Antonelli to claim second, and Max Verstappen rounded out the podium in Texas. 

Arguably the most surprising takeaway from the Austin race is how Verstappen is no longer in the running for the Driver’s Championship. 

Antonelli is leading with 365, and with just five races remaining for the 2026 season, Max is too far behind on 236 points to stage a comeback.