Formula 1: Liam Lawson claims final point in British Grand Prix sprint race, to face stewards for late infringement

Finishing eighth marks just the second time Lawson has claimed points in a sprint race, after doing the same in China earlier this year.

That extra point takes Lawson’s season tally to 31, and sees him close the distance to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the driver’s championship – with both vying for the tag of “best of the rest”, as the highest-placed outside of Formula One’s top four teams.

At the front of the field, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was able to move from second to take the chequered flag, and further extend his championship lead over teammate George Russell.

Polesitter Lewis Hamilton was only able to take second place after losing out to Antonelli, while McLaren’s Lando Norris was able to complete the podium in third.

Lawson’s teammate Arvid Lindblad finished where he started in 10th.

The 22 drivers will return to the track later on Sunday morning (NZ time) for grand prix qualifying.

Starting ninth, one place outside the points, Lawson’s quest to seal a spot in the top eight was always going to be hampered by the pace of the leading cars in front of him.

A slow start off the line, though, saw Lawson drop to 11th after the first corner, before making up both places by the end of the first lap when he overtook Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Lindblad.

After Gasly climbed from 11th to eighth by the end of his first lap, Lawson’s quest for points saw him behind the Alpine. With less than a second to Gasly in front, Lawson closed the gap to position himself to use his car’s overtake mode, and got around his rival on lap four.

Once sitting inside the points, Lawson’s biggest threat came from Hadjar, who had fallen from eighth to 13th when he started poorly.

As the drivers entered the final 10 laps, Hadjar had climbed to 11th, and was just three seconds back from his former teammate, before he got around Gasly to climb back inside the top 10.

On lap 10, Hadjar got the better of Lindblad to set up a challenge on Lawson, if he could get close enough in the six remaining laps.

While the gap between Lawson and Hadjar was more than two seconds at the time of the overtake, the Red Bull was able to close that distance to less than a second with just over two laps remaining.

And while the pair battled on track for eighth, Lawson crossing the line will come under threat as he fronts the stewards.

The British Grand Prix begins at 2am on Monday morning (NZT).

British Grand Prix sprint race result

Kimi Antonelli – MercedesLewis Hamilton – FerrariLando Norris – McLarenGeorge Russell – MercedesCharles Leclerc – FerrariMax Verstappen – Red BullOscar Piastri – McLarenLiam Lawson – Racing BullsIsack Hadjar – Red BullArvid Lindblad – Racing BullsPierre Gasly – AlpineFranco Colapinto – AlpineNico Hulkenberg – AudiGabriel Bortoleto – AudiOllie Bearman – HaasEsteban Ocon – HaasCarlos Sainz – WilliamsAlex Albon – WilliamsValtteri Bottas – CadillacFernando Alonso – Aston MartinLance Stroll – Aston MartinSergio Perez – Cadillac

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.