Liam Lawson will start Formula One’s Japanese Grand Prix in 14th, after the Kiwi was eliminated in the second session at Suzuka.
While Lawson did perform professionally to advance from the opening stage of qualifying (Q1), he was 0.386s shy of advancing into the top 10 and could only watch as that spot was taken by his rookie British teammate, Arvid Lindblad, who will start 10th.
The Kiwi suffered damage to his front wing in qualifying, race engineer Alexander Iliopoulos was heard telling Lawson after his elimination, but had no explanation as to where it had come from.
That resulted in a late wing change for Lawson, which in turn affected his Racing Bulls car’s balance.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Lawson said. “We had a strong car this weekend, we had potential to find even more in quali.
“We had an issue with the front wing in Q2. It’s a shame for sure, we’ll try to move forward tomorrow.
“It’s hard to overtake, we have speed to move forward, but it’s not that straightforward.”
Mercedes’ 2026 dominance continues, with a third straight front-row lockout. For the second race in a row, Italian Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position with the fastest time of the day – 1m 28.778s.
Brit George Russell was 0.298s back in second, while McLaren’s Aussie Oscar Piastri was third, 0.354s behind Antonelli.
Ferrari’s Monégasque driver Charles Leclerc was the fastest non-Mercedes powered car, 0.627s back, while world champion Lando Norris starts fifth, the Brit 0.631s back.
Four-time Dutch world champion Max Verstappen joined Lawson in being eliminated in Q2, as Lindblad sealed the final place in the top 10.
Starting 14th sees Lawson replicate his qualifying performance from the same race in 2025, where he would cross the line 17th after gambling on pit strategy.
The Racing Bulls driver faces a difficult race in Japan, with Suzuka a notoriously difficult track to overtake on.
Last year’s race saw just 15 overtakes after the opening lap, however there are hopes for a more competitive race this year, thanks to Formula One’s new regulations.
If there’s any consolation, Lawson started outside the top 10 in both China’s sprint and grand prix, and finished seventh in both.
As the first car on track in Q1, Lawson’s first effort of 1m 31.785s had him slower than Lindblad, and needing improvement to advance into Q2.
That improvement came before the end of the first session, as Lawson bettered his time to 1m 30.657s to get through as the 11th-best in the first session, with 0.431s to spare, and ahead of both Lindblad and Red Bull’s Frenchman Isack Hadjar.
Into Q2, Lawson’s first lap time, 1m 31.004s, was slower than he managed in Q1 and saw him down the leaderboard and 0.641s outside a place in the top 10.
And while he was able to improve to 1m 30.495s, it wasn’t enough for Lawson to join his teammate in the top 10.
The Japanese Grand Prix begins at 6pm Sunday (NZT).
1. Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
2. George Russell – Mercedes
3. Oscar Piastri – McLaren
4. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
5. Lando Norris – McLaren
6. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
7. Pierre Gasly – Alpine
8. Isack Hadjar – Red Bull
9. Gabriel Bortoleto – Audi
10. Arvid Lindblad – Racing Bulls
11. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
12. Esteban Ocon – Haas
13. Nico Hulkenberg – Audi
14. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls
15. Franco Colapinto – Alpine
16. Carlos Sainz – Williams
17. Alex Albon – Williams
18. Ollie Bearman – Haas
19. Sergio Perez – Cadillac
20. Valtteri Bottas – Cadillac
21. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
22. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.