The Kiwi could have conceivably posted a faster mark, however he was not sent out on to the track for the final qualifying session (Q3) – after his starting position was locked in once Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad was handed a grid penalty for a power unit change.
That could potentially be seen as a wasted opportunity, though, as Lindblad could have been used to give his teammate a tow, and boost Lawson’s chances of starting higher up the grid.
“We decided if we got both cars into Q3 … we wouldn’t run,” Lawson said after qualifying.
“Even if we outqualified one of the top guys, we’re not really fighting them in the race tomorrow. It just makes sense to do this.
“It’s a shame. I was ready to have a proper go at it. Fortunately, now we have plenty of tyres for tomorrow.”
Regardless, with his Racing Bulls car clearly behind the top four teams in front of him, ninth was effectively the best Lawson could have hoped for.
And at a time where his own future is yet to be decided, Lawson starting ninth sees him odds-on to finish the weekend as Formula One’s “best of the rest” as the highest-placed driver outside the sport’s top four teams.
Liam Lawson in qualifying for Formula One’s US Grand Prix in Austin. Photo / AFP
At the front of the field, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli returned to pole position for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix, on a weekend when he can become the youngest champion in Formula One history.
The 20-year-old needs to be 125 points or more clear of second place at the end of the weekend, a feat helped by title rivals Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari and Mercedes teammate George Russell only managing fifth and sixth respectively.
On his run of two straight grand prix wins, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start second behind Antonelli, and needs to claim victory if he’s to be any chance of denying the Italian the title.
Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar will start third in the best result of his career, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc could only manage fourth, despite topping the timesheets all through practice.
Even with the ninth-best time in qualifying, Lindblad will start 14th once his penalty is applied, after the rookie exceeded his allowed number of internal combustion engines for the season.
The US Grand Prix gets underway at 9am on Monday morning (NZT).
Taking to the track in Q1, Lawson did enough on his first lap to advance to the second session without even needing to post a second lap. The Kiwi crossed the line in 1m 35.662s to sit sixth by the time all 22 drivers had posted a lap.
And while he fell to eighth by the end of the first session, advancing to the second session with 0.869s up his sleeve said plenty about Lawson’s performance and allowed him to save a set of soft tyres for later in the weekend.
Returning in Q2, Lawson’s opening lap of 1m 35.280s saw him improve on his Q1 mark, but he could only sit ninth after the first runs. As more drivers improved behind him, Lawson fell as low as 12th and was staring at elimination.
However, one last lap of 1m 35.058s saw the Kiwi into the top 10 by the skin of his teeth, as Lawson progressed to Q3 with just 0.022s to spare from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
From there, though, Racing Bulls didn’t even send the Kiwi out on track to attempt a lap in Q3, and added more to their sets of tyres banked for Monday’s race.