Lawson disqualified from Mexican Grand Prix after technical infringement

Liam Lawson has been disqualified from Formula One’s Mexican Grand Prix qualifying, and lost his starting position as a result.

The Kiwi was summoned to the stewards for the second time in as many days, where his car was found to be in breach of the minimum power requirement on the Motor Generation Unit - Kinetic of his power unit.

“Evidence submitted, which was accepted by all parties present, showed that after the control line at the end of his fastest lap in Q2, the driver did not lift off the power immediately,” the FIA’s official ruling said.

“This resulted in the rate of reduction of MGU-K deployment required to achieve the regulated “step down”, not being achieved.

“The team argued that this did not provide any performance advantage; however it is clear that non-compliance with the Technical Regulations is not excused if no performance advantage is gained. Further, these regulations require that a car must comply with them at all times during an event.

“The Stewards note in particular that the team self-disclosed the breach however there are a multitude of precedents that require us, despite all mitigating circumstances, to impose a penalty of disqualification where a car does not comply with the Technical Regulations.”

However, it is also worth noting that the infringement came in the second stage of qualifying (Q2), before Lawson’s best effort of the day came in the third (Q3).

As a result, Lawson will start at the back of the grid.

Earlier, the Kiwi earned a top-10 start for the Mexican Grand Prix, despite carrying a one-place grid penalty into qualifying.

Lawson posted the eighth-fastest mark in Q3 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, as a one-place grid drop meant starting ninth in Monday morning’s race, after his practice clash with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Regardless, at a time when his future is still to be decided, qualifying in the top 10 would have been another tick in Lawson’s column as he attempts to lead Racing Bulls to fifth in the constructors championship.

“There was a little bit more left, but not enough to fight the front guys,” Lawson said of his qualifying performance.

“It’s a good result to have both [cars] leading the midfield. [The grid penalty] is not ideal. What happened yesterday didn’t need to happen, so I went to see Max this morning and apologise.

“It puts us back a place, so we need to try and move forward tomorrow.”

His best mark of 1m 17.029s was 0.515s off the pace set by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who claimed pole position for the first time this season, 0.009s clear of Mercedes’ George Russell.

Hamilton is the oldest driver to secure a pole position since American Mario Andretti in 1982.

Both he and Russell have the mathematical chance to claim the drivers championship this year, however that remains highly unlikely as Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli closes in on the title.

Liam Lawson drives at Mexico's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Photo / AFP

Despite qualifying fifth, 0.193s off Hamilton, the 20-year-old Italian only needs to finish ninth or higher to become the youngest champion in the history of the sport. Antonelli’s hopes will be boosted by Verstappen’s penalty for the Lawson incident, after the former world champion qualified fourth.

Even after posting the fastest times in both Friday practice sessions, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, could only manage the third-fastest time in qualifying.

Meanwhile, Lawson’s British teammate Arvid Lindblad was ninth, 0.088s back from the Kiwi, despite getting an extra practice session on his teammate after Racing Bulls fielded Red Bull rookie Nikola Tsolov in the weekend’s opener.

The Mexican Grand Prix begins at 9am on Monday morning (NZT).

Taking to the track in Q1, Lawson’s first attempt at setting a lap time was wiped out when Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso stopped on track, the Spaniard triggering a red flag that ended the Kiwi’s hope of posting his opening mark.

Once the session resumed, Lawson’s first effort of 1m 18.107s saw him temporarily in the top five. And even as he improved to 1m 18.097s, Lawson dropped down the order to advance as the 12th-fastest car, albeit safe from elimination by 0.533s.

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen were both punished for an on-track incident in Friday's second practice session. Photo / Getty Images

Into Q2, Lawson improved again to post a lap of 1m 17.628s to sit inside the top 10, but not safe as other cars began to post faster laps behind him. With pressure on to advance, the Kiwi went even better once again, posting a lap of 1m 17.207s that saw the end of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, as a moral win for New Zealand over Australia.

Needing to finish ninth or higher to earn a top 10 start when the lights go out on Monday, Lawson’s first effort in Q3, 1m 17.357s, was slower than he managed to escape Q2, as Racing Bulls ran their drivers on a used set of tyres.

And staring at a 10th place start, Lawson timing his best effort at the end of Q3 saw him clear not just Lindblad, but Alpine’s Frenchman Pierre Gasly too, before his effort was wiped altogether.

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.