Lawson qualifies last: “I have a whole lot of things to sort out”

Liam Lawson’s Chinese Grand Prix has gone from bad to worse after the Red Bull driver’s poor Sprint Qualifying form carried over into this evening’s shootout, with the Kiwi admitting his difficulties with the RB21 are “not an excuse” for qualifying in last place. 

Practically begging for his first positive result of the season, Lawson was eager to head out of the pitlane to start his Shanghai qualifying campaign, however, it wasn’t until the 10-minute mark of the opening session that he cemented a time against his name.

The reason for the delay came in the form of Jack Doohan, with the Australian spinning at Turn 8 and interrupting the Kiwi’s initial run.

To add a bit of angst to Lawson’s already stressful session, he was noted for not slowing under yellow flags, however, the investigation was soon dismissed. 

Crossing the line for the first time, the Kiwi was over one second slower than his benchmark-holding teammate, with the #30 sitting all the way down in P15 to run as the driver at risk.

When it came time for his final attempt, Lawson had a huge ask ahead of him after falling below the cut-off time.

His preparation lap was solid until Pierre Gasly threw a spanner into the works, overtaking the Red Bull driver as they rounded the final corner to start the lap, leaving Lawson flustered.

“It’s very, very tough,” a deflated Lawson said.

“Obviously, I can get upset at the traffic issues and things like that, but it shouldn’t be the difference between me getting through or not.

“I have a whole lot of things to sort out myself before I can look at getting a little bit of traffic and things like that, so it’s just frustrating.”

The Kiwi showed improvements on the timing sheets, setting personal best sectors across the lap, however, as he took the chequered flag, the #30 was the unlucky loser doomed to start the Chinese Grand Prix from last place.

Meanwhile, the RB drivers excelled, with Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda booking their tickets through to Q2, and eventually Q3 where the sister-team drivers qualified in an impressive P7 and P9.

“The window, it’s… it’s very small in this car but, you know, it’s not an excuse, it’s just something I need to get a grip on,” Lawson said.

“We have, sort of, glimpses of it where it feels good, but it’s just a very small window and I just need to get on top of it.”

During today’s Sprint, the Kiwi managed to make up five positions across 19 laps—momentum he’ll hope to at least have replicated come the chequered flag at the Chinese Grand Prix. 

Lights out for the 56-lap marathon will take place at 18:00 AEDT.

Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images // Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

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