Lawson explains why Racing Bulls kept him in the garage for Q3 in Austin
Liam Lawson reached the top-ten shootout at the US Grand Prix but never set a lap. Racing Bulls saved tyres with team-mate Lindblad facing a grid penalty, and Lawson says he asked to run but was told no.
A Q3 without a lap
Liam Lawson made it into the final qualifying segment in Austin and then stayed in the garage. Racing Bulls chose not to run him, and The Race reports that this left team-mate Arvid Lindblad ninth in the qualifying order and Lawson tenth with no time.
Because Lindblad takes a five-place grid penalty for a sixth internal combustion engine this season, he drops to 14th and Lawson starts ninth, according to RacingNews365 and The Race.
The team's reasoning
The logic, as Lawson described it to RacingNews365, was simple. With Lindblad facing a grid penalty, the team judged that the fifth row was the realistic best on offer. Running again would have used up tyres without a clear gain, so the team kept them for Sunday.
Lawson said Racing Bulls had two sets available for Q3, which he called "not normal for us". In a normal situation, he said, two sets would have been useful against rivals such as Alpine or Audi. He now expects to have plenty of fresh rubber for the race.
A driver who wanted to go
The decision did not please him entirely. Lawson said he asked the team to let him run, and was told no. He called it "frustrating a little bit for a driver", especially as the car had looked strong all weekend. He described qualifying as comfortable in Q1 on one set, trickier in Q2, and said Q3 with two sets "would have been lots of fun".
What it means for Sunday
The strategy fits the team's wider situation. RacingNews365 notes that Racing Bulls are closing in on fifth place in the constructors' championship, and Lawson is aiming for another points finish from ninth on the grid.
Penalties elsewhere also reshape the grid, with Gabriel Bortoleto carrying an 80-place penalty and Franco Colapinto a 10-place one, so ninth is a useful launch pad. The race starts on Sunday at 20:00 UTC.
