Late mistake hurts Lawson’s Q3 run in Spa shootout

Liam Lawson charged into Q3 for the third time this season but was left ruing a late mistake that cost him a shot at the top five, with the Racing Bulls driver now focused on surviving whatever conditions Spa throws at him tonight.

Stealing the spotlight from the get-go in Qualifying, the Racing Bulls driver skyrocketed to the top of the order with a standout time of 1:41.765s.

Content with his newfound pace, the Kiwi eventually fell to P3 when he returned to the pitlane, before rejoining the session for a second dash around the 7km circuit.

In doing so, Lawson shaved 17 milliseconds off his initial time before settling into P8, a position that allowed him to safely advance to Q2 without any concern.

Compared to the opening session, it wasn’t as impressive a start for Lawson when his first attempt left him as the driver at risk in P10, two-tenths clear of the elimination zone.

Following a brief reset in the pitlane, Lawson rejoined the session with three minutes on the clock and the task of jumping clear of the bottom five. 

His desperation was evident as he exited the RB garage, cutting in front of Oscar Piastri, who jumped on the radio to advise the Kiwi driver to adopt “bigger mirrors” in future. 

Unaware and uncaring of the championship leader’s dig, Lawson charged around the longest lap on the calendar to record three personal best sectors, allowing him to advance to the top ten shootout in P8.

One of seven constructors battling it out within the top ten, Lawson placed his VCARB 02 into seventh fastest after his opening run.

His lap promoted him almost five-tenths clear of his Racing Bulls teammate, Isack Hadjar, while the rest of the field returned to the pitlane.

With two minutes remaining, the Kiwi rejoined the session with hopes of reducing the 1.5-second margin to provisional pole, but despite doing so, he ultimately slipped further down the grid order.

His fastest lap time of 1:41.328s left him in ninth fastest as Qualifying came to a close, with the teammates’ order reversing when Hadjar slotted into P8, just 18 milliseconds quicker.

Also leaving the Kiwi frustrated was the slim margin that separated P5 from P10, with Lawson just 0.127s behind Alex Albon’s fifth-placed lap when the chequered flag waved.

“Not [pleased with the result] when we see P5 a tenth and a half, or whatever it is, away,” Lawson said.

“It was a good session from the team, to have both cars in Q3.

“And I think the speed was a building, we were learning throughout the session.

“There were some laps where we didn’t necessarily improve, but we found some things in the car and I think we put it together, just had a moment at the end of the lap and just lost a bit of time.

“And just, obviously, with these margins, it’s just pretty frustrating, so yeah.”

As a result of the “tiny mistake” at the end of the lap, Lawson secured himself a grid slot on Row 5 alongside Gabriel Bortoleto, with his teammate in his line of sight as he eyes a potential points finish in Spa.

“It depends on the weather, so I think first we really have to see what that does,” the #30 said.

“And then, if it is wet, we, obviously, have to survive the start and… yeah, whatever conditions we need to try and have a clean race.”

Lights out for the 44-lap race will take place at 23:00 AEST tonight, with the chance of wet weather impacting the Belgian Grand Prix hovering around 40% in Spa Francorchamps. 

Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

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