New Zealand driver Liam Lawson successfully advanced to SQ3 for only the second time this year, having last reached the final segment at the British Grand Prix. This impressive qualifying performance places him on the fourth row of the grid, sharing space alongside championship leader Kimi Antonelli ahead of a crucial sprint race weekend.
Lawson finished 10th in the day's sole practice session but steadily improved as qualifying progressed, recording a 1m33.133s in SQ2 before producing a 1m32.341s on soft tyres in SQ3. The setup adjustments undertaken between sessions clearly paid off handsomely.
Cooler evening conditions also contributed to the overall improvement in car balance and grip around the challenging street circuit. Lawson admitted that while the team struggled earlier in the day, strategic changes successfully unlocked valuable performance.
"Yeah pretty happy," Lawson said when asked about his performance. "We weren't that strong earlier today and we made some changes. And I think maybe as well that cooling off a little bit helped us."
He noted that switching to the soft compound brought a fresh challenge in the final segment, even though it allowed him to register strong pace. Competitors like Pierre Gasly faced a similar unknown variable regarding tyre grip levels during the intense shootout.
"Q2 was probably the better lap. The soft, it was the first time we'd run it today," Lawson explained. "I guess probably the same for Pierre. So it was a little bit unknown. A lot more grip than expected. But yeah, very happy."
Looking toward the sprint race, Lawson expects intense pressure from pursuers while his teammate looks to bounce back from an unfortunate error. Technical leadership emphasized that thorough preparations involving setup and cooling have positioned the team well to convert strong pace into championship points.
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