Lawson prepares for “tough” Austin Sprint after “frustrating” Friday

Frustration was the overriding emotion for Liam Lawson after Sprint Qualifying in Austin, with the Kiwi left ruing what he called a “blocked” lap that cost him a potential shot at the top ten. 

With a vocalised target of scoring points at the United States Grand Prix, Lawson wasted no time as Sprint Qualifying got underway.

Circulating on the mandatory medium compound, the Kiwi set a time of 1:34.603s to slot into P5, before a return to the garage proceeded a late precautionary run with one minute remaining.

His final attempt proved unnecessary as the clock ticked down, allowing Lawson to comfortably advance to SQ2 in tenth.

The 23-year-old’s session came undone when he opted to complete just one single flying run in the second stage of the session, with Lawson remaining in the Racing Bulls garage for six additional minutes. 

Explaining after the session, Lawson’s lap didn’t go the way he had hoped after his struggles started in the pitlane when his route onto the track was “blocked” by a strategically positioned Williams.

“I mean, look, we took the risk, I guess, looking back, trying to do one lap, I think most people did two,” Lawson said. 

“But the car was fast, and, yeah, first part of the lap, I don’t even know if the Williams did a lap because it was the end of the session, but they came out of the box in front of me and then just came straight back in.

“So yeah, I got blocked for the first part of the lap, and then at the end of the lap as well.

“It’s how it is sometimes, obviously, but it felt a little bit extra that time, so it’s frustrating because the car was very fast.

“[In SQ1] we only did one lap and it was well strong enough, so it’s positive for tomorrow, but it’s going to be a tough Sprint Race from where we are.”

Venturing through the final sequence of corners, the Kiwi ran wide at Turn 19, exceeding track limits as he faulted a slow-moving Charles Leclerc for forcing him onto the run-off area.

Lawson’s lap time was deleted, however, had the #30 not faced such a penalty, he would have still missed the cut-off for a place in SQ3, with his time of 1:34.316s initially placing him in P11.

Instead, the Kiwi will line up for the start of the Sprint from P15, sharing Row 8 with fellow rookie Ollie Bearman as he remains realistic about his Saturday hopes. 

“Points will be hard, it’s what, seven places? So, yeah, I think maybe… we’re going to be pushing for it, for sure,” Lawson said.

“We need to look at tyres, maybe we can do something special with strategy, but with this temperature and this heat, probably not.

“Let’s see, we’ll try and move forward at least, and build a good race car for Sunday.”

Lawson will have his chance to make amends when the 19-lap dash gets underway at 04:00 AEST on Sunday morning, with the Racing Bulls driver eager to convert his frustration into forward momentum.

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

2025 United States Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Saturday, October 18th:

Free Practice: 04:30 – 05:30

Sprint Qualifying: 08:30 – 09:14

Sunday, October 19th:

Sprint Race: 04:00 – 04:30

Qualifying: 08:00 – 09:00

Monday, October 20th:

Race: 06:00 – 08:00

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