Liam Lawson makes bold ‘really loose’ claim after qualifying frustration

Liam Lawson qualifies seventh for the São Paulo Grand Prix but leaves qualifying frustrated by a late handling issue that compromises his final lap.

He reports the car turning “really loose” through Turn 1 on his last run, a behaviour not seen earlier, costing time and likely a couple of positions.

Racing Bulls still post a strong qualifying outcome, with both cars in Q3. Isack Hadjar outqualifies Lawson, taking fifth and securing the team’s best starting spot.

Lawson says the instability appears only on the last flyer. The Turn 1 balance shift limits commitment, hurting minimum speed and exit, and undermines an otherwise tidy lap.

He suggests a higher grid position was achievable without that anomaly, given the car’s consistency across earlier qualifying runs.

The session also delivers a striking statistical outlier. Red Bull’s works team loses both cars in Q1, the outfit’s first double elimination at that stage for 19 years.

Lawson’s weekend preparation is further compromised. A sprint clash with Oliver Bearman causes damage and restricts the team’s ability to gather meaningful race‑pace data.

That lack of baseline makes stint length, tyre approach, and strategy modelling harder, increasing uncertainty for Sunday’s conditions.

Even so, Racing Bulls carries momentum from two cars in Q3. The task now is clean execution and tyre management to convert grid slots into points.

Lawson frames the target as incremental gains rather than heroics, underlining the importance of stability through Turn 1 and stronger feedback over long runs.

Visual Summary

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.