Unbroadcast team radio from the Australian Grand Prix has revealed the moment Liam Lawson vented his frustration during a heated on-track battle with Sergio Perez at Albert Park.
During the exchange over team radio, Lawson was heard saying that Perez “f**king sucks” as tensions rose between the two drivers.
The revelation follows a minor confrontation between the pair in the paddock after the race in Melbourne, which was witnessed by PlanetF1.com.
Liam Lawson on Sergio Perez: “That guy f**king sucks.”
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At last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez finished 16th after being lapped three times, while Liam Lawson came home 13th following a poor start that dropped him to the back of the field.
The two drivers clashed in a tense battle during the early stages of the race. Untelevised team radio reveals Perez repeatedly asked his race engineer, Carlo Pasetti, to identify the driver closing in on him. On Lap 15, the exchange went:
Perez: “Who is behind me?”
Pasetti: “He will be fine. He’s still on hards. Replace the steering wheel if everything’s OK.”
Perez: “Who is behind? Who is behind?”
Pasetti: “Behind you is Lawson. Lawson.”
As Lawson approached, Perez defended aggressively, briefly forcing Lawson onto the grass at Turn 11. Lawson, frustrated, commented to his race engineer Alexandre Iliopoulos:
Lawson: “Are you seeing this, bro?”
Iliopoulos: “I did see that. You’ll get him, you’ll get him.”
The duel continued at Turn 4, where Perez again edged Lawson off the track. Lawson eventually completed the pass into Turn 11 but was forced onto the grass once more, with tyre-to-tyre contact in the braking zone as Perez defended his position.
Lawson: “That guy f**king sucks, bro.”
Perez: “[Laughs] What happened to this guy?”
PlanetF1.com editor Mat Coch also reported a minor post-race skirmish in the paddock. Lawson was waiting for post-race media sessions when Perez brushed past him, making slight contact. Lawson suggested Perez’s aggression stems from lingering resentment over losing his Red Bull seat to him in late 2024:
“Two years later, he’s not over it. He’s fighting me like it’s for the world championship and we’re P16. Obviously I don’t really care too much. My race was already over at that point, so we’ll just move on from it.”
Lawson dismissed calls for a penalty: “It was nothing illegal, he was just aggressive. Honestly, I don’t care. It’s for P16.”
Perez described the incident more casually: “For me, it was just racing. It was a bit of fun racing and that’s really it. I was in a much slower car, so I think it was just fine to race.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch.
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