“Not what we planned for”: Lawson reflects on frustrating Q2 exit

Credit: Luca Martini / WHYOUT Media

With plans to help out his teammate in Q3 foiled, Red Bull’s Liam Lawson was left stewing over a Q2 knockout during the Italian Grand Prix Qualifying. 

During Saturday’s Grand Prix Qualifying, all teams were utilising the ability to tow, with some teams even electing to take advantage of sticking close behind opposing cars. At Red Bull, the plan was also to benefit from the tow-favouring circuit; however, things unfortunately did not go according to plan. 

Similarly to how Isack Hadjar gave his teammate Max Verstappen a tow earlier in the season, the hope was that Lawson would be able to replicate that situation once again here in Italy. Lawson is destined to start at the back of the grid for the Grand Prix anyway, so ideally helping out Verstappen would not affect his race. 

Lawson made it through Q1, albeit a bit shakily, as the surprising pace of the Alpine scrambled the usual top contenders. During Q2, Lawson continued to struggle, not able to find much pace in the Red Bull challenger.

Although Verstappen was safely into Q3, it was paramount for his teammate to be there alongside him for the original plan to remain an option. Without Lawson, Verstappen would have to rely on another team to try and sneak in a tow of his own.

During the final minutes of Q2, it was becoming evident that Lawson was not going to make it through unless he had some help of his own. It was then decided that the roles would be swapped, and it would be Verstappen aiding Lawson with a much-needed tow. 

Unfortunately, that plan unravelled quickly, as Lawson found himself frustratingly stuck behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, effectively extinguishing any hopes of benefiting from Verstappen’s tow. 

Speaking to the media following the session, Lawson was clearly frustrated with the outcome. “To be honest, we really should have the speed to get through anyway,” he said. 

“We had quite good speed yesterday, and then today we’ve lost some performance.

“Obviously, the goal was to try and help Max in Q3, and I never got there, so it’s obviously not what we planned for, but I think our quali was a bit compromised anyway.” He concluded. 

In mentioning Red Bull’s quali being “compromised”, Lawson is referring to the incident with Piastri, who was set to be investigated after the session for impeding.