Drama at Red Bull: Lawson’s car fails, Verstappen finds pace

It was a nightmare Practice 3 session for Kiwi driver Liam Lawson at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Lawson completed an out lap and half of a flying lap before slowing the car down on the track.

“What’s happened with the car’s power? Battery issue?” Lawson asked over the team radio.

“Is this major?” asked Liam

“Just come back to the pits,” replied Red Bull Racing Engineer.

Tensions are rising at Red Bull, with the team struggling all weekend with both cars. Max Verstappen seemingly found his groove during Practice 3 for the first time this weekend, completing a 1.16.002 lap time, putting him at the top of the leaderboard with 14 minutes to go.

Lawson was later seen out of the car, helmet off, standing with his race engineer, watching the session from his Red Bull pit garage.

The Red Bull team reported that the car had a significant power unit problem. Eight mechanics are working tirelessly on the car to get Lawson back out before qualifying later today.

This practice session was detrimental to Lawson. Before this weekend, Lawson had not raced on this track, making him the only driver on the F1 grid with no experience at the Albert Park Circuit.

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri topped the practice session leaderboard with a 1.15.921 lap time. Mercedes driver George Russell, behind Piastri with a gap of 0.039s and Max Verstappen with a 0.081s gap, finished the session 3rd.

All focus moves to Qualifying later today, which starts at 18:00 NZT. Grid positions are more important than ever, as rain is forecast for tomorrow. There is a 70% chance of heavy showers during the Grand Prix, with heavier rain forecast in the morning before the race.

Full Results – FIA Formula 1 – Practice Three

Header Image: Red Bull Content Pool