Lawson blames wind for Q2 exit after Tsunoda tension in Austin

Liam Lawson blamed “a massive gust of wind” for his Q2 elimination at the United States Grand Prix, while downplaying a heated run-in with his Red Bull replacement Yuki Tsunoda, saying the Japanese driver “can be angry, but it doesn’t bother me”.

On a hectic Sprint Saturday in Texas, Lawson flew under the radar during the morning’s 19-lap dash to the line.

Many headlines came from the opening corner chaos, however, the Kiwi’s jump from P15 to P11 went largely unnoticed, with Lawson making up four places as he weaved his way through the carnage.

The Kiwi moved up one position further with a Turn 12 overtake on Pierre Gasly, allowing him to settle into P10 through to the chequered flag.

Lawson inherited one bittersweet position due to Ollie Bearman receiving a ten-second penalty for gaining an advantage off-track, moving the Racing Bulls driver in P9, just one position shy of a points finish.

Flowing on from this morning’s spectacle, Qualifying to set the grid for the 56-lap United States Grand Prix was Lawson’s saving grace for the weekend, however, changeable weather conditions stripped the Kiwi of the Q3 appearance he had planned for. 

In comparison to his teammate’s Qualifying luck, the #30’s P12 result in Austin was a welcome one, with Isack Hadjar’s session prematurely ending in the barriers through the fast-paced esses. 

After losing traction through Turn 6, Hadjar’s VCARB 02 struck the barriers, causing significant damage to both the front and rear of his car, and although the medical car was deployed as a precaution, the furious Racing Bulls driver was unharmed as he made his way from the scene.

Once the wreckage was cleared, running resumed with just under 15 minutes on the clock.

Lawson, who had already taken some life out of his tyres before the Red Flag, returned to the track and clocked a time of 1:34.212s, leaving him in P9 as he returned to the pitlane. 

On his final attempt, the Kiwi lifted his VCARB 02 into an impressive P5, keeping the team’s hopes alive as Racing Bulls’ sole representative in Qualifying 2.

The Kiwi was one of the first drivers to record a time in Q2, though it wasn’t a grand outing after he fell back into the elimination zone, missing the then-cut-off by just 0.026s.

Sitting in P11, Lawson came under fire from Tsunoda, who accused the Kiwi of “disturbing me on purpose” and “slowing down like hell in corners” — an allegation echoed by the Red Bull pit wall, which noted the same behaviour from Lawson at Turn 11.

“Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what he has to complain about,” said Lawson on the incident.

“I don’t really remember being in front of him in Qualifying today. 

“He’s obviously angry, he can be angry, but it doesn’t bother me.”

The Kiwi added: “I think traffic is always a little bit tough around here, to be honest.

“But this weekend, it’s been something we’ve all been dealing with, we got hit real bad yesterday in Sector 1.

“I can’t possibly think where I could have been in front of him, but yeah, it’s just one of those things.”

From Tsunoda’s perspective, the Red Bull driver felt the incident with Lawson — which he said he’d be sure to “mention it” to the Kiwi — proved costly, believing it played a key role in his Q2 elimination.

“I saw he was going very, very slow in Turn 11, kind of waiting for me, middle of the corner, so not ideal,” Tsunoda said.

“Until then, I had enough pace to go through to Q3, and I lost everything from that, so it was very frustrating.”

Wind gusts had been plaguing many drivers all session long, and Lawson soon found himself a victim of the Austin climate when a strong gust of wind impacted the start of the Kiwi’s run.

“We had a very fast car, we just got hit by a massive gust of wind at the start of the lap, and then from there, you’re trying to make up lap time, so it sucks,” Lawson said.

“The car has been very, very quick.

“Unfortunately, it’s one of those things, we’re all dealing with it, but we get hit at different points, and unfortunately, it’s cost us quite a lot of lap time.”

Playing catch-up, Lawson couldn’t find meaningful improvement on his final attempt, with his effort ultimately coming undone by a late lap deletion after he exceeded track limits at Turn 19.

As a result, the Kiwi will line up P12 for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, looking to move up into the points-finishing positions as he starts surrounded by Nico Hulkenberg and his Red Bull replacement.

“We have a good package, so we’ll be working hard to make something work to get into the points tomorrow,” the #30 said.

With tensions rising between the two desperate, points-hungry rivals in Austin, the United States Grand Prix promises to be unmissable when the lights go out at 06:00 AEST on Monday.

Image: Peter Fox/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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