Liam Lawson Starts Third at Sao Paulo Grand Prix After Penalties Shake Up Grid
Liam Lawson will start third on the grid for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, matching the best qualifying result of his young Formula 1 career and planting another firm marker in front of his Racing Bulls bosses.
On a drenched Interlagos circuit, the Kiwi hustled his car to fifth in the final segment of qualifying, surviving the treacherous conditions as others slid wide or backed out of laps. Then the stewards went to work.
Power unit penalties for a string of frontrunners, including George Russell and Charles Leclerc, shuffled the order and elevated Lawson to the second row. Russell had originally taken second and Leclerc fourth, but both dropped down the grid after exceeding their engine component allocations.
The reshuffle leaves Lawson starting from third, equalling his standout performance in Azerbaijan last season. It also sharpens the spotlight on a driver still waiting for confirmation of his seat for 2027, even as he quietly builds a compelling case. Ninth in the drivers’ standings, he is now well placed to chase points for a fifth consecutive Grand Prix.
Up Front
Up front, it was Lando Norris who mastered the chaos.
The McLaren driver threaded the needle in the changing conditions to take pole by 0.204 seconds, securing his first front-row start since the Madrid Grand Prix in September and his third consecutive pole at Interlagos. When the rain comes and grip vanishes, Norris often looks at home, but even he admitted the session demanded restraint.
“You feel you want to push so much more but you can't,” he said, summing up the tightrope every driver walked as the track swung between damp and drenched and tyre calls became a high-speed gamble.
Newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli will line up alongside Norris on the front row. The Italian had originally been behind Mercedes teammate Russell, but a five-place grid penalty for Russell, triggered by fresh power unit components, cleared Antonelli’s path to second.
Grid Penalties
The story deeper in the pack is no less dramatic.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, usually a fixture at the sharp end, faces a brutal 30-place cumulative grid penalty after a complete power unit change. He could do no better than 16th in qualifying, and the sanction will hurl him even further back.
Ferrari’s weekend has also been complicated by the engine ledger. Both of the team’s drivers were hit with 10-place grid penalties for taking new internal combustion engines beyond their season allowance. Lewis Hamilton then added more power unit parts, pushing him further down the order still.
Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez joins them at the rear, his car also fitted with fresh elements that trigger a back-of-the-grid start.
History of Interlagos
Yet Interlagos has never been a circuit that bows to the starting order. The place has history with miracles. Hamilton’s charge from the back in 2021 still hangs over the paddock as a reference point for what’s possible here, and Verstappen’s victory from 17th in 2024 only underlined how quickly the race can flip on its head once the lights go out.
The raw pace picture remains intriguing. Earlier in the day, Verstappen had topped the final practice session, edging Antonelli by just 0.025 seconds. Norris sat third, Russell fourth, while Hamilton languished in 12th, more than a second adrift of Verstappen.
Practice speed, though, will mean little once strategy, traffic, and that notoriously volatile Sao Paulo weather get involved.
For Lawson, this is something different: a clear view of the leaders, a wet-weather dress rehearsal passed, and a second row that belongs to him on merit and opportunity combined. On a circuit where legends are often made coming from behind, the question now is simple.
What can he do with a head start?
