Formula 1: Liam Lawson qualifies 13th for China sprint race as power woes return in Shanghai

Liam Lawson will start Formula One’s China sprint race in 13th, after being eliminated in the second stage of qualifying in Shanghai.

A year on from qualifying last in both the sprint and grand prix at the same race weekend, the Kiwi has shown considerable improvement - admittedly in a more driver-friendly car.

The 24-year-old missed out on a top 10 start for the shorter, 19 lap race by just 0.094s, but managed to outqualify rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad (15th) for the second time in succession.

However, after his Australian Grand Prix last week was dogged by a power issue that saw him stutter off the start line, Lawson suffered a recurrence of the same problem in the weekend’s only practice session, after posting the 11th fastest time.

Both Lawson and Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said before the race weekend that the issue had been identified and fixed.

“We’ve made a good step from practice to quali with the set-up,” said Lawson. “We just struggled a bit more here than last week.

“Melbourne really suited our car. Here it’s not as good for us. We need to do some work for tomorrow.

“In terms of set-up, I actually felt quite happy.”

Now, though, the Kiwi must wait until lights out on Saturday afternoon in the hope his power issues don’t continue to haunt him.

After winning in Melbourne last week, Mercedes’ George Russell topped every sprint qualifying session to claim pole, while teammate Kimi Antonelli saw the team lock out the front row in second.

Russell’s time of 1m 31.520s saw him 0.289s clear of Antonelli, and 0.621s in front of world champion Lando Norris, who’ll start third.

Antonelli could be dropped further down the grid, though, and is being investigated by the stewards for appearing to impede Norris earlier in qualifying.

The China sprint race begins at 4pm (NZT) on Saturday.

Earlier, Lawson enjoyed a solid, solitary practice session, despite the return of the same power problems from Melbourne, and posted a best time of 1m 34.773s from his 29 laps.

“Mate, I don’t know what to do?” the Kiwi was heard telling race engineer Alexandre Iliopoulos, after his engine failed to fire from a stationary start.

Lawson’s best effort saw him miss the top 10 by just 0.097s to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in 10th and was over two seconds off the pace set by Russell, who topped the timing charts again with a lap of 1m 32.741s.

However, things were not as simple for Lindblad. Following points on debut in Melbourne with an eighth-placed finish, the 18-year-old could only manage six laps, before having to stop after smoke from his power unit was seen in Lindblad’s cockpit.

The teenager’s best effort was 3.123s slower than Lawson, and more than five seconds back from Russell.

China sprint race starting grid

1. George Russell - Mercedes
2. Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes
3. Lando Norris - McLaren
4. Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari
5. Oscar Piastri - McLaren
6. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
7. Pierre Gasly - Alpine
8. Max Verstappen - Red Bull
9. Ollie Bearman - Haas
10. Isack Hadjar - Red Bull
11. Nico Hulkenberg - Audi
12. Esteban Ocon - Haas
13. Liam Lawson - Racing Bulls
14. Gabriel Bortoleto - Audi
15. Arvid Lindblad - Racing Bulls
16. Franco Colapinto - Alpine
17. Carlos Sainz - Williams
18. Alex Albon - Williams
19. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin
20. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin
21. Valtteri Bottas - Cadillac
22. Sergio Perez - Cadillac

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.