Liam Lawson left the Mexico City Grand Prix disappointed after a stunning return to F1 in Austin. He ultimately finished 16th, second from last among the classified finishers. A messy end to qualifying set the tone for the New Zealander as teammate Yuki Tsunoda crashed out late in Q2.

The ensuing red flags denied him a chance to make the top 10 shoot-out. In the race, Lawson was involved in two incidents, the first of which damaged Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. Significantly, the 22-year-old is trying to take Perez’s spot alongside Max Verstappen.

Photo by Peter Fox – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty ImagesLawson refused to yield as Perez tried to pass him at the turn four/five chicane, leading to clumsy contact. With a hole in his sidepod, the home favourite wasn’t able to make progress from his lowly starting position and he ended up finishing behind his challenger. Later, Lawson came under attack from Williams driver Franco Colapinto at turn one.

The Argentine tried to pass him around the outside, leaving the track as the RB man stubbornly held the inside. As he came back onto the circuit at turn two, he clipped Lawson’s front wing. While the stewards ruled the Perez/Lawson clash a racing incident, Colapinto received a 10-second penalty.

Martin Brundle says Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto will have to change approach to racingLawson and Colapinto are the two most inexperienced drivers on the grid. The former has only taken part in seven races, having briefly deputised for an injured Daniel Ricciardo last year before replacing him in the USA. Colapinto, meanwhile, is only five weekends into his five F1 career after taking over from Logan Sargeant in Italy.

Writing in his column for Sky Sports F1, pundit Martin Brundle said they both had lessons to learn. While he’s enjoyed their ‘confidence’, he does think they’re still racing as if they’re in the junior formulae. That approach is likely to lead to incidents at this level.

“I do admire how much confidence the likes of Lawson and fellow newcomer Franco Colapinto have, even if they both ended up clashing in the closing stages, with Colapinto penalised,” Brundle wrote. “As we all did, they will learn the hard way that you can’t throw heavy and powerful F1 cars on very sticky tyres around in quite the same way you can in the junior formulae. ”Lawson angered Fernando Alonso during his comeback race in the USA.

The Aston Martin driver was unhappy with his defensive tactics during the Sprint race. Why Guenther Steiner thinks Liam Lawson should ‘clean the streets’ with Max VerstappenHelmut Marko called Lawson’s collision with Perez ‘unnecessary’ but also says Red Bull should have managed the situation better. That reflects their measured response.

Red Bull seem to be favouring Lawson by cooling tensions after Perez called him an ‘idiot’ on the team radio. It seems as if the Mexican is trying to apply pressure to the newcomer. Lawson gave Perez the middle finger when he passed him later in the race.

The two drivers were seen in discussion in parc ferme after the chequered flag. Guenther Steiner says Lawson should have to carry out community service after making the offensive gesture. Verstappen could end up ‘cleaning the streets’ as part of his punishment for swearing in an FIA press conference.