The New Zealander fell just eight hundredths short of advancing from Q2 in a session where the entire field from first to 15th was covered by four tenths, and only six hundredths separated positions 11 to 15. Teammate Isack Hadjar squeezed through in seventh before securing ninth on the grid.
Lawson said the car felt strong throughout qualifying but the choice to use three sets of tyres in Q1 — leaving him with only a single new set for Q2 — proved costly.
“The car felt quick during Quali, so it’s frustrating to be out in Q2,” he said.
“We ended up playing things too conservatively today by using three sets of tyres in Q1, which we didn’t need to do.
“It meant we only had one new set for Q2, resulting in us missing out on Q3 by a small margin.”
Lawson also pointed to the disrupted start to his weekend after missing FP1, which forced the team to rely heavily on limited data.
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“We obviously based a lot of our data from P2 but it was the first run in the car for me yesterday. So, yeah, frustrating,” he added.
With every car closely matched, Lawson said the team was wary of taking risks in the opening segment, particularly with the constructors’ fight against Aston Martin for sixth on the line.
“We weren’t sure,” he said. “Obviously with how close it is, I mean, you saw the margins. It’s extremely close. It’s very easy to fall the wrong side of it.
“And obviously it’s a very important weekend for the constructors, and we probably play that into our minds a little bit too much when planning this out.”
He noted that the tyre plan was decided collectively before the session.
“It’s something that we pre-decide before the session. And, yeah, it’s something that’s a discussion between a lot of people today.
“We agree on it all together obviously. It just wasn’t the right choice.”
Despite the setback, Lawson believes points are still possible, though he expects overtaking to be difficult.
“Hopefully we can overtake,” he said.
“It should be a track that you can overtake. But, I mean, with how close the margins are, honestly, I expect everyone to be very similar on pace.”
Racing Bulls head of vehicle performance Guillaume Dezoteux praised Hadjar’s effort but acknowledged the razor-thin margins that left Lawson out.
“Qualifying was extremely tight, once again,” Dezoteux said.
“In Q2, we had all 15 cars within 367 milliseconds! Isack went through after a great second lap in new tyres, while Liam got knocked out by less than half a tenth.”
Dezoteux said both cars are well-placed for Sunday’s finale but stressed that tyre management will determine whether Racing Bulls can fend off Aston Martin.
“Our cars are in a good position for the race but our direct competitors are there too,” he said.
“Tomorrow, the tyre management will be key. It’s a long race and we will give everything to finish in the points.”
Lawson echoed that target, highlighting the importance of the constructors’ fight.
“We’ve got one car in the points currently, and we’re reasonably close to it,” he explained. “So we’re gonna have to try.”
Racing Bulls hold a 12-point advantage over Aston Martin heading into the final race.
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