Lawson concedes he 'didn't quite maximise' his Q3 effort despite looking forward to P3 start in Sao Paulo

Liam Lawson believes he didn’t maximise what he could achieve in Saturday’s eventful wet-weather Qualifying in Sao Paulo despite looking forward to a lofty P3 start in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

The Racing Bulls driver impressed throughout the challenging session as intense rainfall initially led to a substantial delay, before the drivers eventually ventured onto the track in sodden conditions.

With opportunities available for everyone on the grid to do something special amid the challenging weather, as well as the fact that a number of front-running drivers were carrying grid penalties, Lawson capitalised throughout to eventually secure fifth place.

With George Russell and Charles Leclerc two of the drivers taking penalties – along with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen who are starting at the back – Lawson’s starting position in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was elevated to third. However, despite managing to keep his car on track and impressively handling the challenge of standing water and the spray, Lawson conceded he felt there was more to extract from his Q3 effort.

“Obviously, we're in a good place for tomorrow, but we didn't quite maximise it,” Lawson said.

“We had really good speed today, and I tried to make a gap before the last lap. I caught Fernando [Alonso] in the first one, then I aborted, and then it rained. So, I didn't really get to do that final lap. But obviously, we get lucky tomorrow with a couple of places.”

With the teams braced for potentially more disruptive weather during Sunday’s race at Interlagos, Lawson acknowledged that he felt Racing Bulls would have a better chance of scoring big if the treacherous conditions continued.

“I think we have more of a chance, probably, in the wet,” he added. “But there's also a big risk with that, and we have a quick car in the dry.”

The Kiwi has also been at the focus in one of the main talking points this weekend as Racing Bulls are yet to announce their driver line-up for 2027. With Lawson showing his talent at various points this season he was left to question what else he had to do to prove he was worthy of being kept in a seat next season when asked by the media about the situation on Thursday.

With this latest eye-catching performance in Qualifying, Lawson was also asked if an outing like that could help swing things in his favour.

“I mean, yeah, but it's been like this for months now,” he told F1 TV. “So, at this point, honestly, every time I get in the car, I'm just trying to enjoy it. And today I did.

“You know, there's a lot of horsepower in these cars, not much grip today. So, you're really, like, there are places where it's probably five seconds before you get to full throttle and it's different for us. So, yeah, at the moment, being in the car is the most enjoyable part, I'd say.”

Meanwhile it was a tale of reliability woe for Lawson’s Racing Bulls team mate Arvid Lindblad as the British rookie was told to stop the car during Q2 due to a power unit problem, bringing about a premature end to his session.

That meant he missed Q3 for only the third time in the last 13 Grands Prix, qualified in P14, and he will line up in P12 for the race with the various grid penalties applied. It was especially disappointing for him considering his performance in the first part of Qualifying and the eventual starting position for his team mate.

“Q1 was good,” he explained afterwards. “I felt really good, very happy. I mean, I wasn't able to do the last lap, but I think on the penultimate lap I was P3 or something.

"So, I mean, I was fast, I was feeling good, and then Q2, from the beginning, the car felt very strange. And then a PU (power unit) issue.”