Liam Lawson will start the 2025 Australian Grand Prix from 18th after an early Q1 exit.
Lawson struggled to get to grips with his new car, finding the gravel off Turn 3 in one flying lap and the grass in the other. He reported having no tyres left by the end of that lap.
Lawson struggled with grip for the entire session. The Red Bull team is still working hard to improve the car, which has not been kind to Lawson all weekend.
This comes after Lawson ran into trouble in Practice 3, missing most of the session and only completing two laps. The Kiwi missed out on some crucial track time.
While speaking to F1 media after the Q1 exit, Lawson explained:
“We expected the start of Quali to be tough. Honestly, the first laps were expected to be off, and then we just planned on building through the session. But going off on that second lap obviously made everything out of order. And then, yeah, that last lap was good.
“Honestly, just until the last sector where I had a big drop, so missing P3 obviously doesn’t help any of this, but I shouldn’t be going off in Quali.
“I think tyres were already starting to drop there, so that’s something we’ve been battling this weekend and something that we missed practising in P3. I haven’t really done much high-fuel running. I think we have found improvements in the car regardless of this. Obviously, Max is in a very good position, so we have definitely made a step.”
In a separate interview with Media, Lawson had this to say;
“We made a big step today, Max said this morning; the car was in a better window, which was positive. Obviously, not doing the laps made it pretty tough for me,” said Lawson
“It’s not like this car’s way harder to drive, and that’s why I made mistakes. It’s a tough track, with a lack of driving, being stupid and looking forward to the rain tomorrow.
“I would love some rain; I think it’s hard to overtake, so where we’re starting, if it’s dry, it’s gonna be pretty hard, so that that rain would be nice.”
Also out in Q1 were Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Oliver Bearman (Haas), who suffered gearbox issues at the start of the session and were unable to complete a time.
Drivers eliminated in Q2 were Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber).
Verstappen finished the Q2 session at the top of the table with a 1.15.481 lap time. The flying Dutchman seemingly passed the teething issues we saw earlier on the weekend.
At the end of a brutal Q3, it was a McLaren 1-2. Piastri initially topped the table with a 1.15.180, with the crowd roaring to their feet, cheering on the Australian driver. Teammate Norris had other plans and crossed the finish line with a 1.15.096, a 0.084 gap to Piastri, placing Norris in pole position for tomorrow’s race. It’s a strong start to the season for McLaren!
Meanwhile it’s back to the drawing board for Lawson and Red Bull.
Below is the full results from Qualifying –
Header Image: Red Bull Content Pool
