Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson retained his eighth-place finish and the single championship point at the British Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday after surviving a post-race investigation by FIA stewards.
The stewards issued an official warning to the New Zealander following a penultimate-lap incident where he cut across Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar during an overtake attempt.
Officials summoned Lawson post-race for an alleged abnormal change of direction while defending his position under braking.
The governing body cleared Lawson of a sporting penalty after reviewing testimony from both drivers regarding their vehicle telemetry and positioning.
"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," stated the FIA stewards in their official decision document.
The stewards noted that Hadjar supported a lenient approach during the hearing despite the aggressive nature of the defensive maneuver.
"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.
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 added.
The investigation panel concluded that the closing speed discrepancies influenced the positioning but noted the defense bordered on acceptable racing regulations.
"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," the decision expanded.
A formal caution was ultimately deemed necessary because of the abrupt timing of the block.
"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," the panel noted.
The ruling concluded with the definitive disciplinary action for the session.
"Accordingly, the Stewards impose a Warning on the driver of Car 30," the panel stated.
Lawson acknowledged the intense nature of the on-track battle prior to the publication of the official verdict.
"It was close, it was probably quite aggressive.
To be fair, I hadn't started braking yet, so we were still full throttle, but maybe it was quite aggressive, let's see [what the stewards say]," said Liam Lawson, driver for Racing Bulls.
Hadjar expressed his perspective on the incident while awaiting the final ruling from the governing body.
"I'm not going to chase that final point so hard, but I hope the decision they take is sensitive, because that was very aggressive in the car," said Isack Hadjar, driver for Red Bull.
Liam Lawson secured his eighth-place finish and one point at the British Grand Prix sprint race after receiving a formal warning from FIA stewards.
