The 23-year-old faced issues during his final lap in Q1, which was deleted, leaving him unable to improve and eliminating him in the opening stage.
Lawson said he was left frustrated with several issues during his final run.
“A really disappointing session,” he said. “Our lap was compromised when I picked up dirty air and had understeer through the middle of Turn 6, which caused me to run off track.
“It’s a shame because the car has been very quick all weekend. We had a few issues, but the guys in the garage worked hard and got everything sorted in time for Qualifying.”
He added that he was hopeful the characteristics of the circuit would help him gain positions during the race.
“This track isn’t straightforward, but there are overtaking opportunities,” Lawson added.
“Starting from where I am, there are a lot of cars to get through, it’s going to be tough, but I’ll try my best to move forward.”
Lawson ended the session in 20th, his lowest starting position of the season since leaving Red Bull.
He will move up at least one spot on the grid, with teammate Isack Hadjar dropping to the back following a confirmed gearbox and power unit change.
Hadjar also suffered a Q1 exit, his first of his Formula 1 career, finishing 16th.
The Frenchman expressed frustration over a disrupted outlap caused by the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
“It was a frustrating Qualifying session for us,” he said. “Carlos was out there on used tyres and I felt like he was fighting hard to find the right track position.
“I still don’t know what he was doing, but my outlap was compromised, which was followed by a mistake I made in my push lap.
“Overall though, our car is very fast around here. I was really happy with the feeling I had this morning in FP3 and during my first run in Q1, but starting last means that we’re going to have a challenging race.
“We’ll try our best to make a great recovery tomorrow.”
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