Stefano Domenicali believes scoreless F1 driver must ‘be protected’ with his team not giving him enough support

Four F1 drivers have still yet to get off the mark ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With every scoreless race, the story will become bigger.

The most surprising inclusion on the list is Fernando Alonso, the two-time world champion. Teammate Lance Stroll is in double figures, but that’s due to a P5 at a chaotic Australian GP – the reality is that Aston Martin are a lower midfield outfit.

Liam Lawson is directly below the Spaniard in the championship, having been demoted from Red Bull after just two races. Lawson has started poorly in his third stint at the sister team.

Jack Doohan’s Alpine future is safe for now, even though he sits second from bottom. Pierre Gasly didn’t break the top 10 until last weekend’s Bahrain GP, but expectations for Doohan will increase if Alpine are more competitive going forward.

Gabriel Bortoleto completes the quartet, but that was perhaps to be expected. Though they look slightly more competitive than last year, Sauber are the slowest team in F1, so the rookie will rarely have a shot at points.

Stefano Domenicali says Liam Lawson is only ‘human’ amid Racing Bulls woes

Speaking to Motorsport Italy, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali hinted that the Red Bull family aren’t giving Lawson enough ‘support’. It’s been a truly wretched month or so for the 23-year-old.

Since he was ignominiously dropped, Lawson has been outperformed by rookie teammate Isack Hadjar. He’s one of only two drivers to be whitewashed in the head-to-head, along with Kimi Antonelli.

Lawson limped to 17th in Japan as Hadjar shone in eighth place, and then finished 16th in Bahrain last weekend with only 18 cars classified. Off the back of a fourth Q1 exit in five events, he picked up two penalties.

Domenicali says he’d benefit from the kind of backing given to Hadjar, who was in tears after a formation-lap crash in Australia, and Antonelli.

He said: “I also believe that they should be protected, it seemed right to me in Melbourne to give a sign of encouragement to Hadjar, and we saw later what he was able to do, and I think it is important today to support Lawson a little after the start of the season he had, we must also give a human dimension to these guys.”

“Kimi is doing very well, he is eighteen, let’s not forget, and I am happy with how Mercedes is supporting and protecting him. It is nice to see that he remains in his dimension, that of a very young boy with his feet on the ground, who cares about having his family by his side on the day of his debut in Formula 1.”

What are Red Bull insiders are saying about Liam Lawson’s comeback chances

Hadjar received warm praise from Helmut Marko after a stellar recovery from his Melbourne nightmare. But that is implicitly worrying for Lawson.

If he’s no longer a serious contender to race for Red Bull, then there’s arguably little reason to keep him around. Bringing him back would now be a huge risk, regardless of what he does for Laurent Mekies’ squad.

Of the four F1 drivers in the pool, Lawson’s stock is by far the lowest right now. Should Arvid Lindblad impress in Formula 2 – he’s currently ninth after a reasonable start – then his spot could be at risk.

Internally, Red Bull see Lawson’s comeback chances as ‘very slim’. It may be that he has to try and revive his F1 career elsewhere, as Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly have done to great effect.