Kiwi F1 driver Liam Lawson will start eighth in tomorrow's Singapore Grand Prix after another strong qualifying performance, following a fifth-place finish in the earlier sprint race.
The Racing Bulls driver advanced to the final stage of qualifying (Q3) and clocked a fastest lap time of 1m 32.369s around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Lawson initially went ninth-fastest during Q3 but was promoted to eighth after Mercedes' George Russell received a hefty 40-place grid penalty for an engine change.
"It wasn't a great lap. I pushed a bit too hard in Q3," Lawson said after the session.
"We had a really quick car today and had the potential to be one place higher. It's not the end of the world, [but] you want to put together the best lap in Q3, and I didn't.
"It's a bit frustrating, but it's a long race tomorrow."
Lawson will line up one place ahead of teammate Arvid Lindblad, who qualified 10th on his first visit to Singapore.
At the front of the field, Red Bull's Max Verstappen continued a strong weekend by claiming pole position, with a fastest lap time of 1m 31.373s — just 0.054s ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton qualified third, followed by championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes in fourth.
Lawson fifth in chaotic sprint race
Earlier in the day, Lawson finished fifth after starting from eighth in a chaotic wet/dry sprint race, claiming his best-ever sprint finish and equalling his highest race result in Formula 1.
The Kiwi benefited from a crash between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the final moments of the race, which opened the door for Lawson to move up the order.
Verstappen went on to win the sprint race from pole position. He was overtaken by Russell on the starting lap, but the Mercedes driver crashed into the wall to hand Verstappen his first Singapore victory.
Hamilton and Leclerc rounded out the podium for the wet-and-wild sprint race, which saw a total of nine out of 22 drivers fail to finish the rain-affected affair.
Lawson's fifth-place finish continued his impressive run of form, following his seventh-place result at last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
He will be eager to secure another points-scoring finish as uncertainty remains over whether he will retain his Racing Bulls seat next season.
The Singapore Grand Prix will take place Monday at 1am (NZT).
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