Kiwi F1 rookie Liam Lawson has completed another impressive race in his stand-in role with AlphaTauri, finishing 11th at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
Starting in 11th on the grid, Lawson tussled with teammate and local hero Yuki Tsunoda - who began two places ahead of the Kiwi - off the starting line, before getting the better of him through the opening few turns and pushing ahead.
Lawson sat in ninth until the 11th lap, when he pitted to switch to hard tyres. He worked his way back to the brink of the top 10 but couldn't replicate his point-scoring efforts in Singapore.
Nevertheless, finishing ahead of Tsunoda in just his fourth Grand Prix made another timely statement of his potential, after he was overlooked for a fulltime seat next season in favour of the Japanese driver and Daniel Ricciardo.
Championship leader Max Verstappen ran away with the win from pole position, as his dominant Red Bull team secured the constructors' title for the second year in a row.
The victory at Suzuka was the Dutch driver's 13th of the season and left him on the brink of a third world championship after Mexican teammate Sergio Perez, his closest rival, failed to finish.
McLaren's Lando Norris and Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, on a grand prix podium for the first time, finished second and third.
Verstappen can now seal the title with five rounds to spare at the next race in Qatar.
