Formula 1: Liam Lawson to start ninth in Belgian Grand Prix as rivals hit by grid penalties
Liam Lawson’s quest for a sixth-straight Formula One points finish is alive and well, after the Kiwi secured a ninth place start for the Belgian Grand Prix.
While Lawson was only able to post the 11th fastest time in qualifying, and exited in the second session (Q2) by just 0.038s, grid penalties to McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar – both of whom changed components on their power unit outside of the season’s allotment – see him upgraded two spots for lights out.
“We’ve been a bit slow all weekend,” Lawson professed. “We put together the best car we had. It felt quite good, just too slow.
“Tomorrow is going to be a hard race, but I’ll do my best. [Compared] to the guys up front, I think we’re a bit too far away.”
The result saw Lawson miss the top 10 for the first time since this year’s Canadian Grand Prix, where he qualified 12th before finishing seventh in the race.
Regardless, starting ninth sees Lawson equal his qualifying position from the same race last year, where he was able to finish eighth after a crucial overtake on former teammate Hadjar before his pit stop.
This year’s teammate, Arvid Lindblad, qualified eighth and will start seventh, after he was afforded Racing Bulls’ sole car upgrade for the weekend. Lindblad still trails Lawson 6-4 in grand prix qualifying this year, with the pair now seeking a fifth consecutive double points finish.
At the front of the grid, world championship leader Kimi Antonelli earned Mercedes’ 10th pole position of the season – his sixth – with a lap of 1m 44.361s.
No polesitter since Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won at Spa since 2021, who will start alongside Antonelli in second after finishing 0.317s down on the Mercedes.
Antonelli’s teammate George Russell will start third, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completes the second row, after claiming his first victory of the season at Silverstone this month.
Norris had qualified third, but will drop 10 places after changing his control electronics. Hadjar qualified 10th, but falls to the back of the grid after changing multiple engine components.
The Belgian Grand Prix begins at 1am on Monday morning (NZT), with a 40% chance of moderate showers forecast for the day.
Taking to track in Q1, Lawson’s opening effort of 1m 46.501s had the Kiwi ninth by the time all 22 drivers had set a lap, 1.230s clear of elimination midway through the opening session.
That first lap allowed Lawson to fit a set of used tyres for his second and while he didn’t improve his opening time, it was still good enough to advance to Q2 by 0.619s, and save himself a fresh set of soft tyres for later in qualifying.
With a top 10 spot up for grabs in Q2, Lawson’s opening mark of 1m 46.161s was an improvement, but had him 11th by the time the first runs were complete – 0.079s adrift of progressing.
And while Lawson was able to set his best time of the day, 1m 46.120s, the Kiwi was an agonising 0.038s adrift of 10th, set by Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto.
Belgian Grand Prix starting grid
*Grid penalty
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.