“For us, it was [about] piecing it together in quali, and tuning it up. We had the car in a pretty good window, the speed was there. It’s just a shame for the issues.
“For tomorrow, it’s obviously positive. [With] the speed we have, we should move forward, it’s just how far forward we can move.”
That 17th position could be upgraded to 16th, after Esteban Ocon crashed his Haas at turn two, and could be forced to start from pit lane after repairs are made.
Lawson’s struggles make for poor reading next to Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar, who will start 12th after reaching the second session, and set a best time of 1m 31.271s – 0.894s quicker than the Kiwi.
Fresh from topping practice, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start from pole after a best lap of 1m 29.841s, while teammate – and world championship rival – Lando Norris starts sixth.
Despite their struggles all weekend, both Red Bull cars reached the final session of qualifying. Max Verstappen will start seventh and Yuki Tsunoda in 10th.
Mercedes’ George Russell broke McLaren’s dominance to qualify second, but he and teammate Kimi Antonelli, who clocked the fourth-best time, were later penalised for breaching pit rules after Ocon’s crash.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the big surprise, qualifying fifth, and will start on the second row after Antonelli’s penalty.
Lawson can, at the very least, bank on his experience racing in Bahrain in junior categories.
Having raced at the track five times in his two Formula Two seasons, Lawson has one win, three further podium finishes to go with one “Did Not Finish”.
And, given the three DRS zones, the Bahrain International Circuit is a track where drivers can make their way up the grid on track.
However, given his struggles this season, the Kiwi will be lamenting another stroke of misfortune.
Earlier, teams were reluctant to trial too much in the third and final practice session, given the high temperatures on track were not reflective of conditions for the Grand Prix and qualifying.
As Hadjar finished as the fastest of the four Red Bull-backed cars, again, Lawson logged another 14 laps for a best time of 1m 33.370s.
The time bettered Lawson’s mark from practice one by 1.27s.
Those 14 laps mean Lawson has completed 64 across the three practice sessions, greater than the 57-lap distance of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and that he got time on all three sets of tyres.
Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid
1 Oscar Piastri – McLaren
2 Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
3 George Russell – Mercedes – penalty
4 Pierre Gasly – Alpine
5 Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes - penalty
6 Lando Norris – McLaren
7 Max Verstappen – Red Bull
8 Carlos Sainz – Williams
9 Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
10 Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull
11 Jack Doohan – Alpine
12 Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls
13 Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
14 Esteban Ocon – Haas
15 Alex Albon – Williams
16 Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber
17 Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls
18 Gabriel Bortoleto – Sauber
19 Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
20 Ollie Bearman – Haas
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for Newshub and 1News.
