RED BULL gave fans a taste of Formula 1’s V8 era on Saturday at the Bathurst 12 Hour, but did not undertake a much-mooted lap record attempt.
Twenty-year-old Red Bull junior Liam Lawson piloted the 2011-model RB7 around Mount Panorama for a demonstration between Bathurst 12 Hour qualifying sessions on Saturday.
The brief track outing was not officially timed and included the Kiwi stopping to perform donuts for fans at Murray’s Corner and Hell Corner.
While there was no complete hot lap undertaken, Lawson pushed hardest on what proved to be his in-lap to the pits.
Taking a complete lap from the first advertising flyover on Conrod Straight rather than the start-finish line, V8 Sleuth recorded Lawson as clocking a 1:57s best.
Although a long way shy of the 1:48s set by Jenson Button aboard a McLaren in 2011, the Lawson number is still quick by any other benchmark.
Speaking to the broadcast immediately after the run, Lawson beamed of the experience.
“That is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life, to be honest,” he said.
“I did one lap in the Safety Car this morning to get an eye for this place, but doing it in a Formula 1 car is completely crazy.
“The first lap I was honestly so nervous, but after that I actually felt pretty good.
“It was completely flat through the Chase, braking at 120-130m, something like that.
“The car was really, really good. It handled the bumps really well, over the top it was really fast. That was very cool.”
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— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 4, 2023
RB7 playing the Australian National Anthem at the Bathurst 12 Hour #B12hr #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ix0zCmonba
Lawson added that he hopes to one day compete at Mount Panorama.
“I’d love to,” he said. “I’ve been watching Supercars since I was a kid, so I’d love to come back and do a race one day.”
