Liam Lawson will start inside the top 10 for the Belgian Grand Prix after a strong qualifying performance at Spa-Francorchamps, despite falling just 0.038 seconds short of reaching the final qualifying shootout.
The Racing Bulls driver qualified 11th fastest but will be promoted to ninth on the grid following penalties for Lando Norris and former teammate Isack Hadjar, giving the Kiwi another excellent opportunity to extend his recent run of points finishes.
Qualifying was decided by incredibly fine margins, with Lawson comfortably progressing through Q1 before narrowly missing out on Q3 after Gabriel Bortoleto edged him for the final spot in the top-10 shootout.
At the front, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli produced a stunning final lap of 1:44.361 to claim pole position by 0.317 seconds over Max Verstappen. Norris was third fastest but will drop 10 places on the grid due to a power unit penalty, while George Russell qualified fourth ahead of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Oscar Piastri was seventh; Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive form in eighth, but will line up seventh following penalties for Norris and Hadjar. Piastri now starts sixth, with Bortoleto, Lawson and Gasly completing the Top 10 starting grid.
Lawson felt he had extracted everything possible from the car, admitting the team had been slightly on the back foot all weekend.
“We’ve been a little off the pace all weekend, which was somewhat expected with the package we have here. I felt like we put together a strong qualifying lap – the balance was in a good window, and I was happy with the car, but in the end we just didn’t have enough to make it into Q3.”
The Kiwi also pointed to the encouraging performance of Racing Bulls’ latest upgrades, which were fitted to Lindblad’s car this weekend and are expected to be available on Lawson’s car at the next round.
“The progress we’ve made as a team this season has been huge, and it’s a credit to all the hard work everyone has put in. The upgrades on Arvid’s car are clearly working well, which is really encouraging heading into next week when they’ll be implemented on my car too.
“Tomorrow is going to be a tough race, but our race pace has been strong throughout the season, so hopefully we can show that again and fight our way forward.”
Lindblad, meanwhile, delivered another standout performance by reaching Q3 for the third consecutive race weekend and sixth time this season. Despite leaving a little time on the table during his final lap, he was delighted with the progress Racing Bulls has made.
“It’s been a very positive Saturday, and it feels amazing to drive an F1 car on this incredible track. The team has done a brilliant job to produce a strong package this weekend as the car has been quick and the new upgrade is working really well.
“I lost a bit of time in the final chicane, so there’s a small part of me that’s disappointed with the little bit of lap time left on the table, however I’m overall happy to have had my best Quali result so far this season.”
Racing Bulls Head of Trackside Engineering Mattia Spini said the team had executed qualifying well, with Lawson only just missing out on joining his teammate in Q3.
“It was a strong qualifying result for the team, with Arvid taking P8 and Liam finishing just outside Q3. Unfortunately, Liam was not fully comfortable with the rear of the car, and his fastest lap in Q2 left him just 38 milliseconds short of a place in Q3.
“Arvid showed strong and consistent pace throughout qualifying, finishing ahead of our main competitors and less than three tenths from P4. With grid penalties applied ahead of us, our drivers are set to start P7 and P9 tomorrow. We are in a good position to fight for points.”
Starting ninth at a circuit where overtaking opportunities are plentiful, Lawson heads into Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix well placed to continue Racing Bulls’ strong recent form and add another points finish to his season tally.
Header Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
