Liam Lawson qualified 18th for the Melbourne Grand Prix in his debut at Red Bull Racing.
It was a disastrous day for the 23 -year -old New Zealand, entering his first full season at F1.
With time expiring in the first qualification period, Lawson locked the front tires going to the second to the last corner, turning to the grass.
He aborted his lap, going straight down the track.
He came after Lawson had no race at the third weekend practice session at the beginning of Saturday, due to a mechanical issue.
While completing his first timed lap this afternoon, something went wrong with the power unit in Lawson’s car, and his Red Bull engineers immediately asked him to return to the pits.
When Lawson asked if it was a big problem, his engineer wouldn’t say.
He was one of two riders who did not complete a lap during the third training session, along with rookie Oliver Bearman.
Bearman fell at the first training session and his car had not been repaired in time from the second. This means that he only completed a handful of laps before Saturday night’s qualification session.
Lawson’s engine issue occurred at a terrible time.
He is the only F1 grid driver who didn’t run in Melbourne, and all the circuit tours were an opportunity for him to solve any problem he had with his new car.
Lawson showed a good improvement in the second practice compared to the first, overthrowing the gap for his four -time world team champion Max Verstappen.
Speaking of live coverage of the 10 Sport of the third training session, the former world champion Damon Hill said that the entire running weekend of Lawson was “committed” by the mechanical edition.
McLaren Australian pilot Oscar Pastri was faster in the third training session, followed by George Russel, Mercedes, and Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
