Liam Lawson rues Brazilian GP qualifying mistake despite third-place grid start
Liam Lawson reckons he had enough pace to earn a front-row grid spot in Sao Paulo – but rues his own “mistake” in qualifying, which meant he’ll have to start from P3.
The New Zealander starred in wet qualifying, once again progressing into Q3 – and then fighting for the front positions with drivers from the top teams. In the final segment of the session, he was one of the first out on track, only behind Fernando Alonso – and was among the quickest early on.
With more rain coming towards the end of the session, it was important for the drivers to put laps together early, and Lawson’s first attempt ultimately put him P3 on the grid. Yet he believes he could’ve been higher and potentially ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who qualified third – if only he’d left a bigger gap to Alonso on his out-lap.
“I think as a driver you want to maximise it and I feel like we didn’t quite today,” he told Sky Sports after the session. “We’re in a really good place out of the box. Obviously we get lucky with the pit lane that we’re further down than the top teams. So I went out there and then I caught Fernando too much on the first lap and had to abort the second one.
“And then I didn’t get to really maximise it.”
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lawson was 0.226s slower than Antonelli in the qualifying classification – and beating the newly crowned world champion would’ve been enough for the New Zealander to earn a front-row start, as George Russell, who set the second-fastest time in qualifying, had received an engine penalty earlier in the weekend.
When asked whether he believed qualifying on the front row was possible, Lawson replied: “I mean, as a driver, I’m going to say yes, but obviously you never know. And obviously the rain was coming down. So by the time I got to the end of the lap… You never know.
“I don’t know when everybody else did it. But, yeah, considering we got one lap, I think we did a good job.”
Still, having set the fifth-fastest time, he’ll move two positions up the grid thanks to Russell and Charles Leclerc’s penalties.
“It’s still a good place to start,” he said to the media. “Obviously, I always take the free positions, but you always want to maximise as a driver as well.
“I think either way it’s going to be a tough race here. I think unlikely it’s going to be fully dry. But I think we have a quick car in all conditions.”
The New Zealander, who continues to impress this year, still doesn’t have a contract with the team for next season.
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