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Lawson happy with P7 but wishes he had fought Piastri harder at Sepang

GPBeat reports that Liam Lawson crossed the line seventh at Sepang but said afterwards he wished he had fought Oscar Piastri harder after passing him at Turn 1.

GPBeat · Newsroom06 Oct 2026, 08:04 · 1 min
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Conceptual AI-generated editorial motorsport illustration; not a documentary photograph or evidence that a pictured event, meeting or transfer occurred. · 2026-10-06GPBeat newsroom · News Made Clear generated illustration

At the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on 4 October, Liam Lawson crossed the line seventh at Sepang. After the race, he said he was happy with the result but wished he had fought Oscar Piastri harder after passing him at Turn 1. Starting from P11, Lawson briefly challenged Max Verstappen for third at the first corner.

Lawson said he eased off his defence into Turn 4 and braked early because he expected his rivals to be much quicker; in hindsight, he felt they had not pulled away by much. Piastri came home sixth, one place ahead of Lawson, and said McLaren and Ferrari were in a similar pace range but not quick enough to fight for race wins.

Lawson recalled thinking at one point that all the work might yield only ninth. George Russell's late retirement behind the Safety Car was followed by Lando Norris's near-miss with Piastri, reshuffling the order in the closing laps; Lawson said they got lucky at the end.

Sources 02
  1. SOURCELiam Lawson reveals Oscar Piastri wish after unexpected Max Verstappen fightRacingNews365 English
  2. PRIMARY SOURCEPiastri admits McLaren ‘need to improve’ after Malaysia P6Formula 1
Claims and supporting evidence 8
Lawson crossed the line seventh at the 4 October Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held at Sepang.

RacingNews365 identifies the event, date and venue, and says Lawson crossed the line seventh.

[1]
After the race, Lawson said he was happy with P7 but wished he had fought Piastri harder after passing him at Turn 1.

This reports Lawson’s post-race reaction and his stated regret.

[1]
Starting from P11, Lawson briefly challenged Verstappen for third at the first corner.

RacingNews365 describes Lawson’s grid position and his opening-corner challenge.

[1]
Lawson said he eased off his defence and braked early into Turn 4 because he expected his rivals to be quicker, then felt they had not pulled away by much.

The account attributes Lawson’s decision, expectation and retrospective impression to him.

[1]
Piastri came home sixth, one place ahead of Lawson.

Formula 1 reports Piastri’s sixth place and RacingNews365 reports Lawson crossing the line seventh.

[1][2]
Piastri said McLaren and Ferrari were in a similar pace range but not quick enough to fight for race wins.

This is Piastri’s attributed assessment of the teams’ pace.

[2]
Lawson recalled thinking the effort might produce only ninth and said they got lucky at the end.

Both the expectation during the race and the hindsight comment about luck are attributed to Lawson.

[1]
Russell’s late retirement behind the Safety Car and Norris’s near-miss with Piastri reshuffled the order in the closing laps.

RacingNews365 links these late events to the reshuffling of the order.

[1]

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.