Grid penalties lift Racing Bulls driver to second row.
Liam Lawson will start the São Paulo Grand Prix from third on the grid, equalling the best starting position of his Formula 1 career. The Racing Bulls driver qualified fifth in a rain-disrupted session at Interlagos before penalties for George Russell and Charles Leclerc moved him up two places. The result arrives while uncertainty continues over his future, according to Speedcafe, which gives Sunday’s race added weight for the New Zealander.
Lawson Qualifies Fifth in a Rain-Disrupted Interlagos Session
Saturday’s qualifying at Interlagos was shaped by wet and changeable conditions, the kind of session where confidence in the car and the timing of a lap can matter as much as outright speed. Lawson delivered when it counted, setting the fifth-fastest time and placing the Racing Bulls car inside the top five on a day when the order was far from settled.
Racing Bulls said it gained a better understanding of its Austin aerodynamic upgrade, and overnight setup changes improved the balance through the second sector of the lap. Fifth on the road would already have been a strong result for the team, and doing it in difficult weather underlines how comfortable Lawson looked once the track was at its most demanding.
Russell and Leclerc Penalties Lift Lawson to Third on the Grid
The final starting order looks very different from the qualifying classification. Five grid penalties were applied at Interlagos, largely because of power unit changes. Russell took a five-place penalty for fitting fresh engine components, while Leclerc was handed a 10-place drop for moving onto a new engine.
Leclerc’s penalty is the more dramatic. The Ferrari driver qualified fourth and now starts 14th. Together with Russell’s demotion, that promotes Lawson from fifth to third, equalling his career-best starting position. Nico Hulkenberg lines up fourth, directly behind him.
Penalties of this kind are a routine part of modern Formula 1, but they rarely reshuffle a grid this much. Here they have handed Lawson a second-row start that few expected a Racing Bulls driver to hold on race morning.
The Full Starting Grid for the São Paulo Grand Prix
Lando Norris takes pole position, his third consecutive pole at Interlagos, with newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli alongside him in second. Lawson is third, with Hulkenberg fourth, Isack Hadjar fifth and Oliver Bearman sixth. Russell, despite qualifying second, slots in seventh after his penalty.
Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad starts 12th after stopping in Q2 with a power unit problem, which left him 14th in the qualifying classification. Carlos Sainz is 13th and Leclerc 14th.
Further back, Max Verstappen qualified 16th and carries a 30-place cumulative penalty for a full power unit change, while Lewis Hamilton also starts near the back of the field after fitting a fresh engine to his Ferrari.
Lawson Rues a Missed Opportunity Despite Equalling His Best Start
Even with the career-equalling grid slot, Lawson was not entirely satisfied. Speedcafe reports that he rued a missed opportunity from qualifying, and he believes more was available on the day, possibly even a front-row start.
That reaction speaks to the margins involved in a wet session. A single lap can separate fifth from a front-row start on merit, and drivers who feel they left time behind tend to carry that frustration into race day with a point to prove.
For a driver whose Formula 1 career has had its share of difficult moments, being disappointed with a third-place grid slot is itself a sign of how far the weekend has moved in his favour.
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What Sunday’s Race Means for Lawson’s 2027 Racing Bulls Future
The bigger story around Lawson is not only where he starts, but what happens next. Speedcafe reports that he has questioned what more he needs to do to secure his Formula 1 future, admitting he has no Plan B should Racing Bulls decide against keeping him for 2027. Lawson has put it bluntly: he does not know what else they want him to do.
Neither Lawson nor Lindblad has been confirmed for 2027, and Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov is also in contention for a seat. Team principal Alan Permane has said three drivers are in the frame for two places, with a decision due in the coming weeks. Lawson currently sits ninth in the drivers’ standings.
Racing Bulls have kept their message consistent that Lawson is impressing, and he has been the team’s standout performer this season. Permane has praised both Lawson and Lindblad as fantastic drivers, which leaves the team with strong options and no obvious pressure to rush.
Starting third gives him a clear opportunity. A clean run through the opening laps would keep him in the leading group while the penalised cars work their way forward from further back. Russell and Leclerc will both be trying to climb through the order, so Lawson may have to defend against faster machinery as the race develops.
If conditions stay unsettled, the race could reward the same composure that carried him to fifth in qualifying. With the grid set and a career-equalling start in hand, all eyes at Interlagos turn to whether Lawson can turn a fortunate third into a result that makes the decision easy for Racing Bulls.