Liam Lawson will start Formula One’s Italian Grand Prix towards the back of the grid, after failing to progress from the first stage of qualifying at Monza.
However, while Lawson qualified 20th, he will start 19th after Racing Bulls confirmed it will change teammate Isack Hadjar’s power unit, meaning a start from pit lane.
After his first effort in the first qualifying session (Q1) saw him 20th once all drivers had completed a lap, Lawson wasn’t able to improve his time, after his final attempt was deleted for exceeding track limits.
The Kiwi was on course to better his time, before running wide with understeer at the second Lesmo corner saw him forced to return to the pits, resigned to his fate.
“It’s a shame,” said Lawson. “The car has been very fast this weekend.
“We’ve had a lot of issues trying to get on top of them. I think we sorted it for quali. It’s a shame to get knocked out for something that silly.
“We’ll try, it’s not super straightforward. There’s overtaking here, but it’s not easy, especially when everyone’s very close.
“But I’ll try my best.”
Lawson’s only effort was 0.442s shy of advancing through to the second session, and exit at the first stage for the first time since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone earlier this year, having started inside the top 10 in the last three grands prix.
Q1 proved disastrous for Racing Bulls altogether, as Hadjar - who scored his first podium at Zandvoort last week - also missed out on advancing, after setting the 16th-fastest time.
As Hadjar continues to be linked with promotion to Red Bull in 2026, Monza has seen him eliminated in the first stage of qualifying for the first time in his short career.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen claimed pole position, and set a new lap record with a time of 1m 18.792s to start at the front of the grid for the first time since Silverstone, ahead of both McLarens - Lando Norris in second and Oscar Piastri third.
In Ferrari’s home race, Charles Leclerc will start fourth, while Lewis Hamilton set the fifth-fastest time, however he will be relegated down the grid after carrying a five-place grid penalty from last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Having missed the end of the third and final practice session with damage to his floor after setting the 16th-fastest time, 0.801s off the pace set by Norris, Lawson’s Racing Bulls mechanics were able to repair his car in time to reach the start line for qualifying.
Given the risk of traffic on the Monza circuit, neither of the two Racing Bulls cars left the garage at the start of Q1, as Lawson was one of the final two drivers on track.
Once all drivers had completed at least one lap, Lawson’s first effort of 1m 20.279s was enough for 11th place, and just over half-a-second clear of elimination.
But as other drivers improved on their first efforts, Lawson fell from 11th to 20th, even if his time was just 0.153s shy of progressing.
With just under four minutes remaining in Q1, Lawson returned to the track in the hope of improving on his first time, albeit at risk of being stuck behind another car in front.
However, Lawson’s error at turn seven meant his second lap time was deleted, only slightly remedied by the fact Hadjar will start from the pits.
Lawson has completed the Italian Grand Prix previously in his career, when he finished 11th at Monza in 2023, when deputising for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at then-AlphaTauri.
The Italian Grand Prix begins at 1am on Monday morning (NZ time).
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.