Written by Kavi Khandelwal
Liam Lawson shouldered the full responsibility for a difficult qualifying session at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, a weekend that has proven to be a baptism by fire for the young driver.
The Marina Bay Street Circuit is notoriously one of the most demanding tracks on the Formula One calendar, and after two separate crashes during practice, Lawson admitted his performance was “not good enough” and that he had severely compromised his own weekend.
The cost of his mistakes in FP2 and FP3 was immeasurable. By crashing twice, Lawson not only gave his mechanics a significant repair job but also robbed himself of vital track time, leaving him on the back foot heading into the high-pressure environment of qualifying on a circuit with no margin for error.
When asked if he was pleased to have at least put some laps together after his troubled start, Lawson was blunt in his self-assessment and refused to look for positives, instead taking full ownership of the situation.
He said: “No, I mean honestly, it’s obviously on me today with where we’ve ended up. Missing practise, obviously having two crashes is obviously not good enough at all, so yeah, we made it, I made it very difficult for myself.”
This lack of preparation directly translated into his qualifying performance. Lawson explained that while his run was looking “okay” initially, he was unable to find more time on his crucial final lap, a setback he believes could have been avoided with more experience on the circuit.
“Just the last time for whatever reason we didn’t make it work. I went slower,” he said. “Missing all the laps today is maybe something that I would have figured out before.”
Despite his personal frustration, Lawson acknowledged that the car underneath him has potential. Looking ahead to the race, he expressed a sliver of hope but remained deeply realistic about the monumental challenge of moving up the order on a track infamous for being nearly impossible to overtake on.
When asked if he could fight for points, Lawson concluded: “I think so. I think the car’s fast. Whether we can move forward and fight for points I don’t know, it’s going to be pretty tough to overtake but let’s see.” for points, Lawson concluded: “I think so. I think the car’s fast. Whether we can move forward and fight for points I don’t know, it’s going to be pretty tough to overtake but let’s see.”