Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has qualified eighth for tonight's Singapore Grand Prix sprint race, as uncertainty continues over whether he will retain his Racing Bulls seat next season.
At the front of the field, Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed pole position ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Lawson reached the final stage of sprint qualifying (Q3) around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, setting a fastest lap time of 1m 32.341s.
The Kiwi initially qualified ninth but was bumped up a place after Red Bull's Isack Hadjar had his final lap time deleted due to exceeding track limits.
Speaking to media post-qualifying, Lawson said he was "pretty happy" with his result after struggling for pace earlier.
"Honestly we weren't that strong earlier today, but we made some changes. Maybe [temperatures] cooling off helped us as well," he said.
"We're in a good place. Isack [Hadjar] will be fast behind, so I'm sure it will be tough to keep him there for the race."
The result puts Lawson in the final points-paying position on the grid, with only the top eight finishers awarded points in sprint races.
He will be chasing his third sprint points finish of the season, having previously scored in China and at Silverstone.
It also marked a significant improvement from his difficult outing in Singapore last year, when crashes in two practice sessions disrupted his weekend before he finished 15th.
Following his victory at last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Verstappen will be eyeing a win around the only circuit on the calendar where he has yet to win a grand prix.
Lawson's teammate Arvid Lindblad will start from 17th after suffering an early qualifying elimination.
The 21-lap sprint race will take place at 10pm tonight (NZT).
Racing Bulls boss 'not in a rush' to decide Lawson's future
Meanwhile, Racing Bulls team boss Alan Permane has said there is no urgency in deciding whether to retain Lawson for the 2027 season.
Lawson and Lindblad are two of the only drivers on the grid yet to have their seats confirmed for next year, while Formula 2 driver Nikola Tsolov has also been linked to a seat at Racing Bulls.
When asked when a confirmation could be expected soon, Permane told print media: “I don't want to give a definite date, that's not going to work."
“It's going to be in the coming weeks. We're not in a rush.
“Everyone knows we've got two fantastic drivers, we've got a fantastic driver in F2 at the moment."
Permane said the team wanted to ensure it made the right decision, acknowledging that "three doesn't fit into two".
Several media reported that sources had indicated Lawson and Lindblad were both likely to be retained, despite there being no official announcement.
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