Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix recap: Liam Lawson finishes 14th after penalty
Live updates of the Qatar Grand Prix.
Qatar Grand Prix wrap
Pinned Cameron McMillan
Missed the action? Read Alex Powell's report and start your week feeling well-informed.
Qatar Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins
Pinned Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
9. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
10. Lando Norris (McLaren)
14. Liam Lawson (RB)
Max Verstappen: 'Simply lovely'
Cameron McMillan
"Simply lovely, guys! What an unbelievable race again, that was really fun!"
Cameron McMillan
Cameron McMillan
Fifth place for Pierre Gasly as Apline but into sixth in the Constructors standings. And a great result for Zhou Guanyu earning Sauber's first points of 2024.
Another one to forget for RB. Yuki Tsunoda 13th and Liam Lawson 14th.
Qatar Grand Prix: Final lap
Cameron McMillan
Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri set for the podium.
Cameron McMillan
Albon in the pits as Lawson moves up to 14th with two laps to go.
Qatar Grand Prix: Two laps to go
Cameron McMillan
And Hamilton gets by Lawson, so the Kiwi is 15th in last place. A few laps ago Hamilton wanted to get out of the car and end his night but he went back out there and at least chased down Lawson who is losing grip on the softs.
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter in Qatar: Lewis Hamilton inches behind Liam Lawson for 14th
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter in Qatar: Lando Norris flying back through the field and passing other drivers like he's using the easiest setting on PlayStation.
Qatar Grand Prix: Three laps to go
Cameron McMillan
Norris working his back through the field and moves into 11th. Lawson holding 14th spot. Doesn't look like he'll get by his teammate.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 52
Cameron McMillan
Out in front Max Verstappen almost five seconds ahead of Leclerc. Win 63 all but done.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lawson drops a spot
Cameron McMillan
Norris gets by Lawson as he has fastest lap. Six laps to go
Qatar Grand Prix: Points for Sauber?
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter in Qatar: Zhou Guanyu is running in 8th in his Sauber, a team which hasn't scored a point all year. Qatar announced this week it was taking a minority stake in the team, when it becomes Audi in 2026. Good timing in front of a home crowd, of sorts.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 50
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
9. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
10. Alex Albon (Williams)
13. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Lawson moves to 13th
Cameron McMillan
Lawson right behind Tsunoda. Hamilton pits for a penalty so Lawson now in 13th.
Qatar Grand Prix: Unusual rate of attrition
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter in Qatar: Five cars are out of the Qatar Grand Prix, and other front runners like Lewis Hamilton are out of position. An unusual rate of attrition. These kind of races are when midfield runners like Lawson and team mate Tsunoda should be in the position to score big points. Instead they're running last, and second last. A missed opportunity, at a time when a big result would be useful, for Lawson especially
Qatar Grand Prix: Lando Norris penalty
Cameron McMillan
Norris handed a stop-go 10 second penalty. That will rule him out from the podium. He lifted during a yellow.
Norris will re-enter behind Lawson.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 45
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
10. Alex Albon (Williams)
15. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Lawson behind Hamilton
Cameron McMillan
Lawson remains in 15th as Hamilton drops back to 14th. Yuki Tsunoda in 13th.
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: They've just pitted both Tsunoda and Lawson for softs! The drivers are clearly not wanting to race on the hards, This will be a big finish.
Qatar Grand Prix: Safety car coming back in
Cameron McMillan
Lawson sits in 15th, last place, and will be right behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda on the restart. Both are on the softs. This will be fun
Qatar Grand Prix: Safety car returns
Cameron McMillan
So we'll get yet another restart.
Qatar Grand Prix: Red Bull seat watch
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: Perez and Colapinto both being out is quietly very good news for Lawson. If he can get around Tsunoda when the latest yellow flag and safety car finally ends, the Kiwi can at the very least claim a moral victory in the race for a 2025 Red Bull seat...
Qatar Grand Prix: Perez off
Cameron McMillan
Hamilton gets by Lawson. Perez meanwhile drops out of the race. On the restart Max Verstappen just holds off Norris.
Nico Hulkenberg in the gravel. And Perez lost drive and was hit from behind. Both are done.
Lawson heads into the pits again to put mediums on.
Qatar Grand Prix: Racing resumes
Cameron McMillan
Lap 39. Safety car drops off and racing resumes. Lawson in 15th has Hamilton right behind him. Ahead he has Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas.
Qatar Grand Prix: Pit stops done
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: Racing Bulls pitted Tsunoda and Lawson at the same time. That left the Kiwi idle while waiting for his teammate.
Cameron McMillan
Hamilton now in 16th behind Lawson as the safety car remains out there.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 36
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
15. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Safety car
Cameron McMillan
Now the safety car is out, which they should have used earlier. And the leaders all pit. What a mess. They should have removed the wing mirror which belonged to Albon. Someone was going to go over it eventually and it was Bottas. They marshall clean the mess up.
Qatar Grand Prix: Hamilton struggling
Cameron McMillan
Puncture for Hamilton. Looks like Bottas ran over the wing mirror which caused a mess across the track. Carlos Sainz also has a puncture.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lawson up to 14th for now
Cameron McMillan
Lawson up to 14th, two spots behind teammate Tsunoda, three seconds from Albon. He still has the 10-second penalty though.
Cameron McMillan
Someone has lost a wing mirror which sits in the middle of the track. It means there is a yellow flag on the straight which is the only place you can pass at Qatar.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 30
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10. George Russell (Mercedes)
15. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Red Bull seat battle watch
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter in Qatar: Sergio Perez circulating in a respectable 6th place, his best run in recent memory. Unlikely to be enough to save his job though, given his paltry contribution to Red Bull's Constructor's Championship points tally.
Cameron McMillan
Lawson moves up to 15th as Bottas and Magnussen pit.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lawson closing gap
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: Lawson has closed the gap to 16th to less than two seconds now. But how long until he has to pit? It looks like drivers are able to manage their tyres without issue tonight. A one-stop strategy should be enough.
Qatar Grand Prix: First in the pits
Cameron McMillan
George Russell the first of the top 10 to pit. He re-enters the race in 11th. He lost three spots with a long stop. They couldn't get the right rear tyre off.
Qatar Grand Prix: Bad signs for the Racing Bulls
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: Worth noting how far Yuki Tsunoda is falling at the moment. At one point he was 10th, he's now 14th and out of the points. Bad signs for the Racing Bulls car in the race, even if Lawson is closing the gap on Hulkenberg.
Qatar Grand Prix: Eyes on the pits
Cameron McMillan
We should see some boxing soon. Lawson could take his 10 second penalty. Meanwhile Bottas passes Tsunoda who is now 14th.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 20
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
9. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
17. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Plenty of racing to go
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: At the time of his incident, Lawson closed the gap to Hulkenberg to less than two seconds. It's now more than three seconds. He's going to need a safety car, or two, if the field is going to close enough to put pressure on the drivers in front - and that's not accounting for his 10 second penalty. Still, plenty of time to go in this race.
Qatar Grand Prix: Poor start for RB
Cameron McMillan
Yuki Tsunoda also struggling. He was 10th but now back to 13th after the restart.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 14
Cameron McMillan
At the front, Max Verstappen increases lead to two seconds over Lando Norris.
At the back, Lawson 1.7 seconds behind Nico Hulkenberg.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lawson handed a penalty
Cameron McMillan
10 second penalty for Lawson's role in the incident with Bottas.
From bad to worse for the Kiwi. He's in last place and now faces a penalty.
Cameron McMillan
Stewards looking at an incident between Lawson and Bottas.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 9
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
9. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
17. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 8
Cameron McMillan
Max Verstappen increases the lead on Norris. At the back of the pack Lance Stroll retires so Lawson remains last but is 17th,
Qatar Grand Prix: Where Lawson went wrong
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter: Lawson heads into Turn 1 backwards, after spinning on his own. He quickly gets back underway but is now last, in 18th.
Qatar Grand Prix: Green and back underway
Cameron McMillan
Max Verstappen leads them out and the race is back underway. Lap five. Issue for Lawson it seems as he moves to the back of the field.
Lawson went off at turn one on the restart and he's in last behind Stroll.
Qatar Grand Prix: Close to the action
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter: Pile up at the first corner near where I'm situated between Colapinto, Ocon and Hulkenberg. Lawson avoids the drama to speed past towards the back of the field. Colapinto has been rumoured to be one of the contenders for a Red Bull seat in 2025, but this has crashed in the past three events. This won't help his chances next year.
Qatar Grand Prix: Hamilton's poor start
Cameron McMillan
Hamilton has dropped three spots with Sergio Perez moving up from ninth to sixth. Hamilton looks to have jumped early and then held off.
Cameron McMillan
A bit going on on the first lap. Stroll and Albon also touching and spinning. They remain out there. Safety car remains out there.
Nico Hulkenberg caused the incident with Colapinto and Ocon but he was able to pit and get back out there.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 3 - Lawson made early moves
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: In yesterday's sprint, Lawson lost six places on the opening lap. Today he's made up three. Small margins at this level, but great signs of improvement from the Kiwi.
Qatar Grand Prix: Lap 2
Cameron McMillan
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
10. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
14. Liam Lawson (RB)
Qatar Grand Prix: Yellow flag
Cameron McMillan
Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon are off. They were at the back of the pack.
Qatar Grand Prix: All go
Cameron McMillan
The lights are off and they are away. Max Verstappen and George Russell both get by Russell on the first turn.
Qatar Grand Prix: Tyre conditions
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: Every driver bar one will start on the mediums. Nico Hulkenberg of Haas is the sole driver to start on the hard. His teammate Kevin Magnussen was the only driver to pull off a one-stop strategy last week, and finished 12th in Las Vegas. Will they try the same again?
Qatar Grand Prix: Formation lap
Cameron McMillan
George Russell leads them out for the formation for the second straight race. Red Bull's Christian Horner said in the pre-race chat that Max Verstappen will be even hungrier after that one-spot grid penalty.
Qatar Grand Prix: Tyre conditions
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell: Predicting Lawson will start on the hard tyre today. That will (hopefully) allow him to go as long as possible in his first stint, and finish on a quicker compound. Last week, he started on mediums, but the cold weather in Las Vegas ultimately told. Whether it'll be the same in Qatar is to be seen.
Qatar Grand Prix: Colder than last year
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter reporting from Qatar: Plenty of puffer jackets and scarfs being worn here at the Lusail International Circuit on the outskirts of Doha, with the temperature sitting around 19c. Add wind chill on top of that, and it feels much colder, which is positively Antarctic for locals. The weather is in stark contrast to last year's race here which was held in extreme heat and ultra high humidity, land is considered one of the hottest ever F1 races, leaving several drivers exhausted and struggling to finish.
Qatar Grand Prix: Facilities are immaculate
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter reporting from Qatar: Big crowd here at the circuit for the third ever Qatar GP, with Formula 1's global surge in popularity clearly extending to the ultra-rich Gulf petrostate. Like many things in Doha, the circuit and its facilities are immaculate, having been built with no expense spared. Just down the road is the gleaming, gold Lusail Stadium, which hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France. In a tenuous link, there are two French and one Argentine driver starting the Qatar GP.
Qatar Grand Prix: Track update
Cameron McMillan
Alex Powell reports: The Losail International Circuit is 5.4km long, but 1km of that is the main straight. This track is very technical, there are plenty of corners, and little to no run-off areas for drivers to bank on if they make mistakes. In a way, it's quite similar to a New Zealand track in that regard, which could play into Lawson's hands.However, starting 17th does the Kiwi no favours, overtaking will be a challenge. Strategy is going to be decisive today.
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter reporting from Qatar: Not that Liam Lawson has any control over this, but baseball caps for his Racing Bulls team are on sale here at the circuit for 430 Qatari riyals - a mere $202 New Zealand dollars.
Qatar Grand Prix: Pre-race
Cameron McMillan
Andrew Potter reporting from Qatar: Pitlane is open! Liam Lawson is fourth car out of the pits on his reconnaissance lap. The shiny blue No. 30 Racing Bull gleaming under the floodlights on a chilly night here in Doha.
Qatar Grand Prix starting grid
Cameron McMillan
1. George Russell (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
12. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
14. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
16. Alex Albon (Williams)
17. Liam Lawson (RB)
18. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
19. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
20. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Qatar Grand Prix: Welcome aboard
Cameron McMillan
Morning early risers and welcome to our coverage of the Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the F1 season. Max Verstappen wrapped up the title last week in Vegas and back up by winning pole in Qatar but he lost the top spot for some shenanigans during qualifying. George Russell will start on pole.
Liam Lawson will start Monday’s Qatar Grand Prix in 17th, after being eliminated in the first qualifying session at the Losail Circuit.
In his bid to impress Red Bull and earn a place alongside newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen in 2025, Lawson’s hopes took a hit on Sunday (NZ time), as he was unable to progress through the first run.
The Kiwi’s best time of 1m 22.411s was slightly slower than teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who took the final spot in the second qualifying session with a mark of 1m 22.364s, before improving his time to 1m 21.771s in the following session, qualifying to start 14th on the grid.
Lawson was on track to better his initial qualifying mark, and had posted faster times through sector two and sector three before the end of his lap.
After being eliminated, Lawson took exception to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who he alleged deliberately slowed down on the track to affect other drivers behind him. Stroll himself will start 15th after finishing at the bottom of the second qualifying session.
“[Stroll] purposefully slowed up through [turn] nine and ten when he aborted his lap,” Lawson told his team over the radio.
“It just sucks man.”
After qualifying was complete, Lawson lamented the build-up of drivers looking to begin their final qualifying laps, and conceded the traffic in the Grand Prix will be difficult to overcome if he’s to score points.
“It’s really small,” he said. “When the margins hundredths of a second, like they are, it’s a little bit frustrating.
“Everyone backed up before the last corner, so we sat idle for 20 odd seconds there. Turn one and turn two, the tyres aren’t there. I couldn’t improve on the lap I did at the start of Q1.
“It’s going to be tough from where we’re starting. We’ll work as hard as we can, but judging from today’s race, it’s going to be difficult.”
Lawson’s RB teammate Tsunoda was eliminated in the second session and will start at 14th on the grid, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez joined Verstappen in the third and final qualifying run for ninth on the grid.
Verstappen had looked to have taken pole position for the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix at the start of July. However, the world champion will now start second on the grid, after his pole was stripped following an incident with George Russell, where Verstappen was judged to have driven “unnecessarily slowly”.
Russell will start second on the grid, a week after winning in Las Vegas, while McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri lock out the second row in third and fourth, as they close in on the constructors’ championship ahead of Ferrari.
Piastri led Norris in a McLaren one-two finish in the sprint race earlier on Sunday.
In better news for the Kiwi, though, he was able to outqualify Williams’ Franco Colapinto (19th), who is also understood to be in the running for Red Bull in 2025, provided the now-former world champions can buy him out of his current reserve role.
The three Red Bull drivers, as well as Colapinto, are all vying for the seat next to Verstappen next year, given Perez’s poor form through the back half of the 2024 season.
With two Grands Prix remaining in 2024, Perez trails his teammate by 252 points, the largest gap by far between any two teammates on the grid.
What’s more, Perez’s form has all but guaranteed Red Bull will finish third in the constructors’ championship, and cost his team tens of millions of dollars as a result.
Earlier, Lawson was unable to turn an impressive qualifying run into points on the shorter, 19-lap sprint race.
On Saturday, the Kiwi beat Perez, Tsunoda and Colapinto to start 10th, but couldn’t hold on to challenge the top eight for points.
The first lap saw Lawson drop from 10th to 16th, which was where the Kiwi would eventually cross the line without any major incident.
“The first lap was a bit of a disaster,” Lawson said post-race. “I don’t really know why, we just had really low grip through the first part of the lap.”
“That pretty much killed our race.”
In a boost to Lawson, though, he still managed to beat his fellow contenders Tsunoda (17th), Colapinto (18th) and Perez (20th). Starting from pitlane, Perez’s race took a further hit when he was overtaken on the start line by Colapinto.
The Qatar Grand Prix starts at 5am on Monday.
Qatar Grand Prix starting grid
1. George Russell (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
12. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
14. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
16. Alex Albon (Williams)
17. Liam Lawson (RB)
18. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
19. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
20. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.