Kiwi Liam Lawson has qualified 10th for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint event, after having his fastest time docked for driving off the track.
Brit Lando Norris dominated the qualifying rounds, with the the fastest times in all three stages and pitting early, after setting a tough benchmark (1m 21.012s) for his rivals.
Countryman George Russell will share the front row of the shortened race, followed by Aussie Oscar Piastri and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, with confirmed four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen in fourth for the 19-lap race.
The performances of Russell and Piastri were good news for the McLaren team, who can clinch the constructor championship from Ferrari with perfect results on the 5.4km Lusail International Circuit.
After clocking 1m 23.562s in practice, Lawson improved with each stage of sprint qualifying, progressing 14th (1m 22.705s) in Q1 and 10th (1m 22.393s) in Q2. Among those failing to advance were Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda (17th) and Red Bull rival Sergio Perez (16th).
Lawson actually clocked 1m 22.082s for ninth in Q3, but took his car too far off the track limits in the process and had the time deducted.
"A big step," reflected Lawson. "We were not very fast earlier, so you just make it more difficult for yourself.
"We had to put a lot of effort in, personally as well, to make the step, but it was cool to do that.
"It's a shame we had a lap deleted in Q3 — it's one position, but it all makes a difference — but happy with the step we made.
"There's always more to extract [from the car] and we'll work on that overnight. That one psoition will hurt us tomorrow, because we need to make up two for any points."
In two previous sprint events, he qualified 15th and finishing 16th at Austen, and eighth at Sao Paulo, where he finished ninth.
Lawson is also looking to bounce back from a disappointing result at Las Vegas last week, where he never challenged the top 10 and finished 16th in the main event.
SHARE ME