With drama and storylines unfolding in front of him, Liam Lawson completed a professional display at Formula One’s Qatar Grand Prix, to claim two points with a ninth-place finish.
After qualifying 12th on a track designed first and foremost for MotoGP – leaving overtaking next to impossible – Lawson was patient in making up three places to take his seventh lot of points in 2025, with Red Bull’s decision over its 2026 driver lineups expected imminently.
Almost metaphorically, the Kiwi’s Racing Bulls crossed the finish line one place ahead of Red Bull rival Yuki Tsunoda, who claimed the final point in 10th.
The two are understood to be vying for the final seat at Racing Bulls, with Lawson’s current teammate Isack Hadjar expected to be promoted to Red Bull and his place likely to go to Formula Two driver Arvid Lindblad next year.
“From where we started, it’s positive,” said Lawson. “We had really good race pace when we were in clean air – we just spent the whole race in traffic. That’s what you get around here.
“[It was] a positive result from where we started.”
At the front of the grid, Max Verstappen ensured this season’s title race will go down to the final weekend, with his seventh win of the season.
With the nature of the Lusail International Circuit dictating two mandatory pit stops, and no car allowed to run a set of tyres for more than 25 laps, Verstappen benefited from a shocking error by McLaren.
A safety car on lap seven saw all but the two McLaren cars pit, as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris went from first and second, to second and fourth respectively. Williams’ Carlos Sainz completed the podium in third place.
Norris produced a final-lap overtake on Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, which could prove decisive in the championship fight, netting the Brit a crucial two extra points.
As a result, Norris’ championship lead has been cut to 12 points from Verstappen with one race to go, with Piastri 16 back in third.
Should Verstappen claim the championship next week, he’d have done so despite trailing the McLaren cars by more than 100 points after Piastri’s victory at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The title will now be decided in Abu Dhabi next week.
Hadjar, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on giving Racing Bulls a double-points finish, as a tyre puncture on the penultimate lap saw the 20-year-old drop from sixth to 18th, before retiring altogether.
Given the tight nature of a Lusail track designed for motorbikes, overtaking off the line was vital for any driver wanting to advance up the grid.
In Sunday’s sprint, Lawson did just that to secure a 14th-place finish. This time around, though, the Kiwi lost out to Ollie Bearman’s Haas, and was forced to battle Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari to fight to keep hold of 13th.
On lap seven, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg collided with Pierre Gasly at turn two, which ended his race and left the Alpine with a puncture. That saw both Lawson climb to 11th, and trigger a safety car.
Lawson pitted, and emerged in 12th, with Tsunoda behind him, before the Kiwi regained 11th as Haas’ Esteban Ocon pitted. As the safety car ended on lap 11, Lawson was less than a second back from Bearman, but was again fighting for any chance to pass, and instead relying on mistakes in front of him.
By lap 21, Lawson had both pushed his lead over Tsunoda to above one second, but fallen more than a second behind Bearman at the same time, as lap 32 loomed as the deciding factor for the finishing order.
When that arrived, Lawson was fortunate to avoid a pit lane incident with Mercedes’ George Russell, and emerged in 12th – but effectively gained a place after Bearman was cited for an unsafe release, with Lance Stroll carrying a penalty ahead of him.
With less than a second to Stroll in front, Lawson could afford to be patient, and wait for the Aston Martin to have to stop before getting around.
On lap 50, Stroll pitted, and pushed Lawson inside the top 10 for the first time in the weekend, with six laps to hold on and secure the final point.
Lawson extended his lead over Tsunoda to more than one second in the final laps, only to see Hadjar’s misfortune on the penultimate lap ensure both drivers ended up in the points.
The Formula One season concludes next weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Did not finish: Lance Stroll – Aston Martin, Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls, Ollie Bearman – Haas, Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.