Formula 1 result: Power unit issue sees Liam Lawson forced to retire in Canadian Grand Prix

It was another case of what could have been for Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls, as the Kiwi was forced to retire from Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Having started from pit lane after qualifying in 19th place, Lawson got through 55 of the 70 lap race at Montreal’s Circuit de Giles Villeneuve, before he was called into the pits by his team due to a power unit issue.

Ironically, though, having changed his power unit before the race itself, Lawson’s new engine ultimately proved to be his undoing, as Racing Bulls made the call to not risk further damage.

The result caps a frustrating weekend for the Kiwi, who had been fast in both Friday practice sessions, but couldn’t escape from the first session of qualifying one day later.

“Sorry, mate,” Lawson’s race engineer Ernesto Desiderio was heard saying.

“It’s a hard day and this is the cherry on top, But we had to take care of this [power unit].

“We had a sudden loss of pressure at one point, nothing big, but we couldn’t keep running.”

The Kiwi had done well to manage his first set of tyres for 39 laps but pitted at the wrong time to make a one-stop strategy work, which left him with little chance to push for points, even before his power unit woes.

“It’s disappointing,” said Lawson post-race. “Obviously it was going to be a difficult race anyway, from the pit lane.

“It’s just been a tough, tough weekend, which is a shame.

“Yesterday was a pretty specific thing we struggled with in qualifying, but the pace of the car was actually quite good.

“What happened in the race today is a little bit out of our control.

“It’s a shame, but we have to keep resetting and look ahead.”

At the front of the grid, Mercedes’ George Russell converted pole position into his first win of 2025, on a weekend that could prove to be a dramatic shift in the title race.

While Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed second place, McLaren’s fortunes were hit by neither of their two drivers finishing on the podium for the first time this year.

Having been forced to manage their two drivers’ chances all season, Lando Norris’ race was ended by a collision with teammate and world championship leader Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth.

Team bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have been adamant all season they will not prefer one driver over the other. However, after favouring Norris to end 2024, McLaren might find themselves having to back one driver over the other for the rest of this season.

Eighteen-year-old Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took third place, making him the third-youngest driver to stand on a Formula 1 podium.

The result saw Piastri increase his championship lead to 22 points from his teammate, given Norris’ failure to finish. Verstappen is a further 43 points back from Piastri, as he bids for a fifth drivers title in succession.

Lawson also drops from 17th to 18th in the standings, after Fernando Alonso earned six points for finishing seventh.

In the constructors championship, McLaren moved 191 points clear of second place, as Russell’s win saw Mercedes overtake Ferrari for second.

Meanwhile, Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar crossed the line 16th in what proved to be a disappointing weekend for the team.

As the 18 drivers who started on track avoided any chaos on the opening lap, Lawson held 19th place at the start of the second, and got to work in reeling in the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

With track temperatures in the high 40s, all drivers faced a choice of pushing to overtake, or playing it safe to preserve their tyres.

Lawson chose the latter, as his gap to Stroll became more than a second, and gave the Canadian breathing room in his home race, even if the Kiwi was under no immediate danger from Pierre Gasly’s Alpine behind him.

However, at the start of the 11th lap, drivers on medium tyres began to complain of degradation.

And with Lawson starting on hards, the first set of stops saw him climb to 16th, getting past Hadjar, Franco Colapinto of Alpine and Alonso’s Aston Martin as they all pitted.

By the time the last of the drivers who started on mediums pitted, Lawson had climbed to 14th – albeit having lost a place to the fresher tyres of Alonso.

Lawson’s patience paid off on lap 25, as Stroll was forced to pit for the first time having pushed too hard on his first set of tyres, but was still forced to defend Gasly, who stayed within a second of the Kiwi.

While Lawson held off the challenge of Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber got past the pair of them, given his tyres were 19 laps fresher than both after his first stop, before Colapinto did the same on lap 38, and relegated the Kiwi to 15th.

On lap 39, Lawson finally pitted, and emerged in 20th on a set of medium tyres, more than 17 seconds behind Alex Albon’s Williams.

But despite clean air in front and fresh tyres underneath, Lawson didn’t push on the medium tyres, but got past Albon on lap 48 when the Williams was forced to retire with a power unit issue.

A 10-second penalty for Stroll saw Lawson climb up to 18th, only for the Kiwi’s race to end early after the retirement.

The Formula 1 season will now take a weekend off, before returning with the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg at the end of June.

Canadian Grand Prix finishing order

1. George Russell - Mercedes
2. Max Verstappen - Red Bull
3. Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes
4. Oscar Piastri - McLaren
5. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
6. Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari
7. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin
8. Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber
9. Esteban Ocon - Haas
10. Carlos Sainz - Williams
11. Ollie Bearman - Haas
12. Yuki Tsunoda - Red Bull
13. Franco Colapinto - Alpine
14. Gabriel Bortoleto - Sauber
15. Pierre Gasly - Alpine
16. Isack Hadjar - Racing Bulls
17. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin

Did not finish: Lando Norris - McLaren, Liam Lawson - Racing Bulls, Alex Albon - Williams

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