Lawson 14th in incident-filled Qatar Grand Prix

Liam Lawson finished the Qatar Grand Prix in 14th, a place behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda, following a Lap 5 spin after contact with Valtteri Bottas, which also left the Kiwi with a 10-second penalty.

Having qualified 17th, Lawson got a good start, which put him out of the grasps of a three-car incident at Turn 1 that saw Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon forced from the race.

Nico Hulkenberg had run up the inside of the corner in a three-wide battle, but ran wide into Ocon, who bounced across into Colapinto, an innocent bystander, on the outside and sent the Williams off into the gravel. Hulkenberg was able to continue, albeit after returning to pit lane to replace his punctured left-rear.

Alex Albon and Lance Stroll came together in a seperate Lap 1 incident, which saw both cars spin and the latter receive a 10-second penalty for the contact.

It was the Lap 5 restart where Lawson came to grief, with the Kiwi running down low at Turn 1 and spinning out towards Bottas, who was alongside. RB’s #30 spun but rejoined proceedings before receiving a 10-second penalty for the incident.

Two further Safety Car periods during the race kept the Kiwi in contact with the field, and he crossed the line in 14th, one second behind Tsunoda, as the last car on the lead lap.

“We weren’t quick enough to be fighting with the teams we need to be today,” said Lawson.

“I had a spin on the first safety car restart when I tried to overtake Bottas. I didn’t have enough temperature in the tyres and lost the car and tried hard not to make contact. After this, we caught the pack up and our pace wasn’t bad, but we were out of position.

“We also experienced balance issues towards the end of the race. It was a tough race, we also struggled here last year.

“We’ve made big steps this season but there’s more to be taken. Ultimately, we lost a lot of points to our competitors, which we will fight hard for in Abu Dhabi.”

Team Principal Laurent Mekies added, “It’s been a very difficult weekend in terms of our performance level, right from practice on Friday. It is clear that we never had the pace we needed around this track. With the whole field being so close, if you are just a few tenths off your optimal level, you drop down the order significantly.

“However, no time on track is wasted and we will learn from this event, lessons that will be useful, not only for Abu Dhabi in a few days time, but at this point of the season, even in terms of next year.

“As for our championship aspirations, it’s clear that while we made a step forward in recent races, it coincided with our two rivals for sixth place doing the same, with our former driver Pierre Gasly showing us no mercy today!

“Now our thoughts switch to Abu Dhabi, where everyone in the team at the track and the factory will be working hard to end this first year as Visa Cash App RB in the best way possible.”

World Champion Max Verstappen dominated proceedings from the front row, leading every lap to take his ninth win of the season.

A 10-second stop/go penalty for ignoring yellows cost Lando Norris second, to the benefit of Charles Leclerc, who followed Verstappen home six seconds in arrears.

Oscar Piastri salvaged a podium for McLaren with third, while Norris secured a solitary championship point in tenth.

Norris’s penalty came as a result of yellow flags prior to the second Safety Car on Lap 37, which came when Albon’s departed wing mirror was hit by Valtteri Bottas. The susequent debris led to punctures for Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton.

Sergio Perez lost drive during the intervention and was forced into retirement shortly after.

Hulkenberg found the gravel at Turn 9 following the Lap 40 restart and brought the race’s third and final Safety Car.

From there, Verstappen battled Norris off the restart, until the McLaren driver learned of his penalty which dropped him from contention.

Following Verstappen, Leclerc and Piastri home was pole-sitter Russell and Pierre Gasly, who secured another strong result for Alpine in their fight for sixth in the Constructor’s Championship.

Sainz bounced back from his mid-race puncture for sixth, which saw Ferrari outscore McLaren 26 points to 19 in Qatar, leaving the two teams just 21 points apart ahead of the season-finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Fernando Alonos was seventh, ahead of Zhou Guanyu, who took Sauber’s first points of the season with a commendable eighth place.

Kevin Magnussen and Norris completed the points. Bottas finished 11th, ahead of Hamilton, who lost out because of his puncture, and the RB duo of Tsunoda and Lawson.

Albon was the final finisher, a lap down on the field.

Hulkenberg, Perez, Stroll, Colapinto, and Ocon were the race’s non-finishers.

The 2024 Formula 1 season wraps up with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend.

Qatar Grand Prix Results

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