Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson suffered an early elimination from sprint qualifying in Miami and will start tomorrow's sprint race from 17th on the grid.
The Racing Bulls driver posted a fastest lap time of 1m 31.043s during the first round of sprint qualifying (SQ1), initially fast enough to advance through to SQ2 in 16th.
He was pipped by Williams' Alex Albon during the final moments of the session, dropping him to 17th and ending his sprint qualifying hopes early.
Lawson could be heard frustrated and swearing over the radio to his race engineer after his exit, saying, "My braking is really bad".
"I can't brake for any of the f***ing corners. I'm braking so early," Lawson said.
Speaking to media after qualifying, Lawson described his result as "a series of bad events".
"We were a little bit misplaced on the garage exit and ended up a lot further back on track, and didn't have a very good outlap," he said.
"I think the car has actually improved from this morning, so it's a shame."
Reigning world champion Lando Norris of McLaren secured pole position for tomorrow's sprint race, clocking a fastest lap time of 1m 27.869s during SQ3.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who secured sprint pole last year around the Miami International Autodrome, will line up second on the grid, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri in third.
Lawson's rookie teammate, Arvid Lindblad, will start from 16th.
The Miami Grand Prix weekend marks the return of Formula 1 racing after a five-week break, with races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancelled due to the war in Iran.
10 of the 11 teams on the grid have bought upgrade packages to Miami, including Lawson's team, Racing Bulls, in a bid to adapt to the sport's controversial new regulations.
Under the new rules, power is split evenly between combustion and electrical systems, placing a far greater emphasis on drivers' energy harvesting and battery deployment during a race.
Asked yesterday about how he felt about upgrades made to the car over the break, Lawson said: “It’s really hard to know at this point.
“This part of the year is really about development, so everything we’re bringing, we’re trying to bring better stuff than everybody else, and we’ll see how we go,' he said.
Lawson currently sits 10th in the World Drivers Standings, so a points-scoring weekend would be crucial for the Kiwi to maintain his current momentum.
The Miami Grand Prix Sprint race takes place Sunday (8am NZT).
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