He is joined in the top 10 by teammate Isack Hadjar, who will start fifth, in a performance that would leave a casual fan questioning who the top team of the Red Bull stable are.<\/p>\n
While Lawson and Hadjar soared, Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen (16) and Yuki Tsunoda (19) were eliminated in the first qualifying session (Q1).<\/p>\n
According to the broadcast, it was the first time since 2006 that both Red Bull entries were eliminated in Q1 for a grand prix, while it was the first time Verstappen was eliminated at that stage since 2021.<\/p>\n
The Kiwi\u2019s best lap in Q3 of 1m 09.962s was 0.451s off the pace set by pole-sitter Lando Norris, who again put his McLaren at the top of the grid. It will be the same front row as it was for the sprint race on Sunday morning, with Mercedes\u2019 Kimi Antonelli the second-fastest car on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s positive. Obviously we\u2019re going to analyse the details. We lost a little bit of time in the lap and that\u2019s definitely cost us a few positions, but when it\u2019s this close in these kinds of conditions, I think everybody\u2019s got that story. It\u2019s a decent place for tomorrow,\u201d Lawson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to score points, that\u2019s the target. Both cars in Q3 obviously which puts us in a good position, so we\u2019ll definitely give it a good shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawson will start next to Haas\u2019 Oliver Bearman on the grid for the grand prix, which adds a bit of spice to the mixture after the two collided at turn four on the first lap of the sprint race.<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson made contact with Oliver Bearman into turn four of the first lap of the Sao Paulo sprint race. Photo \/ Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n
Lawson looked to have been given room on the inside before Bearman turned in. That saw the Kiwi Racing Bulls driver clip the Haas and send it into a spin, but both drivers were able to continue in the race.<\/p>\n
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n The pair were called to share their sides of the incident with the stewards after the race, and both drivers were handed a five-second time penalty and one penalty point.<\/p>\n Bearman was penalised for driving in a manner deemed potentially dangerous, while Lawson was penalised for causing a collision \u2013 his ruling released about 40 minutes later.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Car 30 [Lawson] attempted to move alongside, the driver of Car 87 [Bearman] moved to the left, leaving insufficient room and forcing Car 30 to place two wheels on the wet grass. Although Car 30 managed to keep control and avoid contact, this manoeuvre occurred at high speed and created an unnecessary risk,\u201d the stewards said in their ruling for Bearman\u2019s penalty.<\/p>\n For Lawson\u2019s, they said: \u201cVideo evidence from circuit cameras and on-board footage did not clearly establish whether the front axle of Car 30 was at least momentarily alongside the rear-view mirror of Car 87 prior to the apex, let alone whether this overlap was maintained at the apex \u2013 as would be required under the Driving Standards Guidelines for an overtaking car on the inside to be entitled to racing room.”<\/p>\n Lawson finished 13th after starting in 17th place, in what turned into a rather hectic sprint, with McLaren\u2019s Oscar Piastri, Alpine\u2019s Franco Colapinto and Kick Sauber duo Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto all going into the barriers. However, after his time penalty was applied, Lawson dropped down to 16th.<\/p>\n It was on lap six that things started to get interesting when Piastri took the kerb at turn four. The kerb was still holding water after overnight rain, which sent the Australian spinning into the barriers.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n Within seconds, he was joined there by Hulkenberg and then Colapinto, who did the exact same thing.<\/p>\n The carnage saw red flags come out and the race was suspended as the track was cleared. Hulkenberg was able to continue, but Piastri and Colapinto\u2019s teams have work to do ahead of qualifying.<\/p>\n When racing resumed from a rolling start, Lawson was in 13th and while he was passed by both Bearman and Haas teammate Esteban Ocon on lap 17, Bortoleto going into the barriers at turn one on the final lap \u2013 impacting Williams\u2019 Alex Albon in the process \u2013 saw Lawson back into 13th at the finish.<\/p>\n Bortoleto did not feature in qualifying due to the damage to his car, and will start from the back of the grid in the grand prix<\/p>\n Sao Paulo Grand Prix grid<\/p>\n Lando Norris \u2013 McLarenKimi Antonelli \u2013 MercedesCharles Leclerc \u2013 FerrariOscar Piastri \u2013 McLarenIsack Hadjar \u2013 Racing BullsGeorge Russell \u2013 MercedesLiam Lawson \u2013 Racing BullsOliver Bearman \u2013 HaasPierre Gasly \u2013 AlpineNico Hulkenberg \u2013 Kick SauberFernando Alonso \u2013 Aston MartinAlex Albon \u2013 WilliamsLewis Hamilton \u2013 FerrariLance Stroll \u2013 Aston MartinCarlos Sainz \u2013 WilliamsMax Verstappen \u2013 Red BullEsteban Ocon \u2013 HaasFranco Colapinto \u2013 AlpineYuki Tsunoda \u2013 Red BullGabriel Bortoleto \u2013 Kick Sauber<\/p>\n Sprint race results<\/p>\n Lando Norris \u2013 McLarenKimi Antonelli \u2013 MercedesGeorge Russell \u2013 MercedesMax Verstappen \u2013 Red BullCharles Leclerc \u2013 FerrariFernando Alonso \u2013 Aston MartinLewis Hamilton \u2013 FerrariPierre Gasly \u2013 AlpineLance Stroll \u2013 Aston MartinIsack Hadjar \u2013 Racing BullsEsteban Ocon \u2013 HaasOliver Bearman \u2013 HaasYuki Tsunoda \u2013 Red BullCarlos Sainz \u2013 WilliamsNico Hulkenberg \u2013 Kick SauberLiam Lawson \u2013 Racing BullsAlex Albon \u2013 Williams<\/p>\n DNF: Oscar Piastri \u2013 McLaren, Franco Colapinto \u2013 Williams, Gabriel Bortoleto \u2013 Kick Sauber.<\/p>\n Christopher Reive<\/a> joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a>Save<\/a>Share this articleCopy LinkEmailFacebookTwitter\/XLinkedInReddit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Live updates of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix where Liam Lawson chases more points. In qualifying for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12882,29188,10813,55281,42,47525,20409,4960,130,43,90,87085,44625,47527,87084,46803,1569,40,38,41,39,7245,540],"class_list":["post-126522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-chases","tag-formula","tag-grand","tag-grid","tag-headlines","tag-lawson","tag-liam","tag-live","tag-more","tag-news","tag-on","tag-paulo","tag-points","tag-prix","tag-sao","tag-seventh","tag-starts","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-updates","tag-where"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}