Sports · Motorsport · 4 hrs ago
Lawson skips Q3 lap to protect Racing Bulls’ US GP grid position
Racing Bulls asked Liam Lawson to stay in the garage during the final qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Both Lawson and teammate Arvid Lindblad reached Q3, but Lindblad was due to take a five-place grid penalty for an engine change.
The team believed neither driver could qualify ahead of the top eight, so another lap would not improve its prospects against those cars in the race.
Lawson’s ninth-place starting spot was protected, while Lindblad qualified ninth and will start 14th after the penalty.
Lawson said he wanted to set a lap and had two fresh sets of tyres available, but accepted that the team’s plan left them with more tyres for the race.
The result matters in Racing Bulls’ fight with Alpine for fifth in the constructors’ standings: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly qualified 11th, just behind Lawson.
The race is scheduled for Sunday, and Lawson expects a close contest with Alpine; Lindblad said the track has passing opportunities that could help him recover places.
Liam Lawson will start ninth at the United States Grand Prix after Racing Bulls chose not to send him out for a Q3 lap.
The team made the decision because teammate Arvid Lindblad has a five-place grid penalty and the team wanted to improve his starting position.
Lawson qualified 10th without setting a Q3 time, while Lindblad set a time that put him ninth before his penalty.
Lawson said he was disappointed to miss a chance to improve his position but would have extra tyres for the race.
Racing Bulls is battling Alpine for fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
- Who
- Liam Lawson and his Racing Bulls team, with teammate Arvid Lindblad also involved.
- What
- Lawson skipped a Q3 lap in a tactical decision intended to improve Lindblad’s grid position after his penalty.
- When
- During qualifying for the 2026 United States Grand Prix on October 24.
- Where
- Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
- Why
- Lindblad had a five-place grid penalty, and the team did not expect to out-qualify the other cars in Q3.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Lawson reached Q3 by eliminating Pierre Gasly by 0.022 seconds.
Lindblad set a time while Lawson remained in the garage, as Racing Bulls applied its tactical decision.
The United States Grand Prix is scheduled for 3pm local time.
- Lawson’s starting position
- Ninth
- Lawson’s qualifying result
- 10th, without setting a Q3 time
- Lindblad’s penalty
- Five grid places for taking a sixth internal combustion engine
- Gasly’s qualifying position
- 11th
- Racing Bulls’ championship battle
- Fifth place in the constructors’ championship against Alpine
2 sources
What people are saying
We decided that if we got both cars into Q3 that considering Arvid has a penalty for tomorrow, that we wouldn’t run
It’s a shame
So I’m sure it’s going to be very very close