Liam Lawson shines in chaotic Interlagos qualifying
Rain, red flags and a ruthless display of composure turned qualifying at Interlagos into Liam Lawson’s stage – and he walked away with a spot on the second row that says as much about his future as it does about his speed.
Lawson masters the chaos
The session never really settled. Less than two minutes into Q1, heavy rain and a red flag ripped up every carefully plotted run plan. Teams parked their cars, stared at the radar and started again. By the time qualifying resumed almost 90 minutes later, the drivers were staring at what was effectively a one-shot shootout on a drying, treacherous surface.
This is usually where mistakes creep in. Lawson simply went to work.
As the times tumbled and the leaderboard shuffled with every lap, the Kiwi looked vulnerable on the timing screens but never on the road. His 1m 32.085s in Q1 was good enough for seventh, with more than 1.2s in hand. No drama. No late panic lap. Just a clean, controlled passage into Q2 while others flailed.
For Racing Bulls, the bigger punch came from the timing tower. Constructors’ rivals Alpine saw both cars dumped out in Q1, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly stranded in 17th and 18th. On a day when the weather punished hesitation, Alpine blinked. Racing Bulls didn’t.
Opportunity opens, Lawson pounces
Q2 began with a gift. Max Verstappen, carrying a 30-place grid penalty for a power unit change, never rejoined the session. One heavyweight removed from the equation, one extra slot realistically available in the top 10. Lawson didn’t waste it.
On a clearing track, his first run – a 1m 30.922s – instantly put him inside the safety zone. Then the circuit came to those brave enough to lean on intermediate tyres. Lawson did exactly that.
He bolted on inters, attacked early and delivered a superb 1m 27.049s, vaulting into second place in the segment, just 0.304s off George Russell’s benchmark. It was the kind of lap that slices through the noise of a messy session: precise, aggressive, and timed to perfection.
On the other side of the Racing Bulls garage, it unraveled. Arvid Lindblad’s charge ended with the car stopped at turn five, the mechanical issue leaving him 12th and out. Moments later, Haas debutant Rafael Camara hit the barriers, bringing out another red flag with under a minute to go and locking the order in place. Lindblad was done. Lawson was very much alive.
Second row reward as others slip
By the time Q3 rolled around, the weather turned again. More rain, less grip, and almost no chance of anyone touching the best laps they had laid down in Q2. The final phase became less about pure pace and more about nerve.
Lawson held his.
He couldn’t improve on his earlier time in the worsening conditions, but he didn’t need to. While the session turned scrappy and several bigger names floundered, he kept it tidy and banked a starting position that matches his career best: fourth on the grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Up front, Lando Norris delivered a lap in the dry window that no one could get near, taking pole for McLaren. Newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli lines up alongside him on the front row, a fitting marker of his status. Behind them, the second row tells its own story of a wild afternoon: Lawson in the Racing Bulls, joined by Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, who also surfed the chaos to a standout result.
Further back, the grid carries its own subplot. Verstappen will launch from 21st after that 30-place penalty, turning his Sunday into a damage-limitation charge. Lindblad, stuck in 12th, will wonder what might have been without the stoppage and the mechanical gremlins.
A wet-stage audition for 2025?
For Racing Bulls, the qualifying result is a double win: Lawson firmly in the fight at the front, Alpine marooned in the pack. With the constructors’ battle tight and 71 laps ahead, that swing could prove vital.
The forecast promises more rain for the race. That is exactly what Lawson will want.
Interlagos in the wet is a circuit that exposes the timid and rewards the bold. Lawson has already shown which side of that divide he belongs on. On Monday at 6am, with a second-row start and a soaked Brazilian rollercoaster in front of him, he gets the kind of platform drivers dream about.
He has made his case in qualifying. Now, in the conditions he relishes, can he turn this into the performance that finally locks his place in Formula One for next year and beyond?
