Lawson lands season-best Qualifying in Monaco

After feeling “pretty comfortable all weekend” and praising a “really fast car,” Liam Lawson produced his most competitive Saturday of the season with a Q3 breakthrough in Monaco, securing P9 and leaving “stoked for the team” after both Racing Bulls reached the final shootout.

The Racing Bulls driver was one of the first to grace the track in Q1, setting an initial benchmark of 1:12.946s that briefly saw him top the timing sheets, but as track evolution kicked in, Lawson slipped into the elimination zone, trailing the cut-off time by two-tenths with just one run remaining.

Navigating the notoriously unforgiving 3.3km Monte Carlo circuit, the Kiwi delivered a string of personal best sectors to post a 1:11.818s. 

It was a strong lap on paper, but the real stroke of fortune came moments later when a late Red Flag halted the session and effectively locked Lawson into P12, gifting him a ticket to Q2 just seven milliseconds adrift of his teammate.

With a banker lap already on the board before the delay, Lawson was among the last to rejoin the circuit once Q2 resumed. 

Despite the shrinking clock and fierce midfield battle heating up, the RB driver climbed to P9 on his first proper run, just 0.032s clear of his teammate as he sat right on the edge of elimination.

Pushing once more before the flag, two more personal best sectors nudged Lawson into new territory, with his first appearance in a top-ten shootout this season arriving minutes later.

“We were able to unlock the car in Free Practice and I’ve been feeling pretty comfortable all weekend,” Lawson said. 

“It was a strong Qualifying for the team, we had a really fast car today but we had even more on the table, as we struggled a little bit with the tyres and had some traffic in Q3. 

“It will be exciting tomorrow with the new rules, we are all going to be learning and trying to make the most of every opportunity and the two stops will certainly make it interesting. 

“We will plan the best we can but the most important part of the weekend is done. 

“It’s nice that everything has come together to get us to this point, I am stoked for the team with both cars in Q3, we are in a decent position and I’m positive for tomorrow.”

Making the most of his Q3 debut, Lawson was again among the final drivers to set a lap. 

His early effort slotted him into P8, 1.2 seconds adrift of the provisional pace and after a brief pitstop, he returned to the track in the dying moments and stitched together three personal best sectors for a 1:11.129s — briefly rising to P6.

As the final times filtered through, Lawson was ultimately shuffled down to P9, however, it still marked his strongest Saturday showing in 2025 — setting him up to launch from the heart of the midfield in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

His teammate also had a career-high result in the Principality, qualifying P6 on the road, however, being promoted to fifth place thanks to a three-place grid drop for Lewis Hamilton after the Stewards penalised the Ferrari driver for impeding Max Verstappen earlier in the session.

Chief Technical Officer at RB, Tim Goss described his drivers’ efforts as “phenomenal”, crediting the men in the cockpit for finding the extra ounce of pace that rewarded the team with a double Q3 appearance.

“An excellent day for the team. Not without its challenges though,” Goss said. 

“After Friday, we knew we needed more and worked hard in engineering support and the simulator to dial some understeer out of the car and to improve the kerbing performance through the swimming pool chicane. 

“The plan for FP3 was to give our two drivers as many laps as possible to get dialled into the circuit and to give them consistency on the tyres to gain confidence. 

“Here at Monaco, every bit of learning counts. 

“The set-up changes were a success for Liam. 

“Isack still lacked some confidence in the car and we took the decision to further evolve his setup with a few more small adjustments. 

“As Qualifying progressed, both drivers gained further in the understanding of the car and how to get the tyres into the right window. 

“They both delivered phenomenal laps to put themselves P6 and P9. 

“It’s a driver’s circuit. We have two great drivers.”

The unknowns of a mandated two-stop strategy coming into place for the 78-lap race add an extra element of excitement to what is usually a stagnant showing in Monaco, with lights out scheduled to take place at 23:00 AEST.

Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

2025 Monaco Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Friday, May 23:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, May 24:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, May 25:

Quali: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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