Photo / Red Bull

Kiwi Formula 1 star Liam Lawson has just missed scoring points at the Japanese Grand Prix but beat his teammate in another strong showing on Sunday.

In a week in which it was announced Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will retain their seats at AlphaTauri next season, Lawson underlined his talents and gave the team reason to re-think.

Filling in for the injured Ricciardo, Lawson has looked every bit the seasoned campaigner and has created a good headache for Red Bull-backed outfit.

Lawson qualified in 11th and was able to finish the race in the same spot, holding off hometown hero Tusnoda in a thrilling early race battle.

The next race is Qatar in a fortnight with Lawson expected to deputise for Ricciardo one more time.