Lawson downbeat despite season-best qualifying effort

Lawson qualified 12th fastest on Saturday evening in Jeddah, two spots ahead of his Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar.

It is the first time the New Zealander has qualified ahead of Hadjar in their three events together.

It is also Lawson’s best qualifying position of the year thus far, two spots better than he managed at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old was frustrated that his Qualifying 2 time of 1:28.191s was just 0.089s off what was needed to progress.

“Every day is getting more comfortable,” he said.

“This track forces it out of you a little bit because of how fast and high commitment it is.

“I feel comfortable, it’s just a shame to be so close to Q3.

“It’s so close, the midfield, tiny margins make a difference.

“I think we did all the right things this weekend with the car, putting it in a good window.

“It’s a shame because it’s still just not quite enough.”

This weekend’s event is Lawson’s first taste of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Formula 1 machinery.

It led him to confirm that the venue lives up to its terrifying reputation, one that rewards drivers pushing the limits.

“This is the type of track where putting it up against the wall can make all the difference,” he confirmed.

“Honestly, commitment-wise, it’s the best lap I’ve done all weekend by far,” he added of his qualifying effort.

“I feel like we put it together.

“It’s just, unfortunately, our weak part of the track is probably a little bit through Sector 1, and that’s what we’ll be chasing tomorrow and going forward.”

There is little to separate the midfield, with Williams, Alpine, Racing Bulls, Aston Martin, Haas and potential Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda making for potentially 12 cars vying for the final points-paying positions.

With limited race runs under his belt during practice, Lawson is uncertain how the race will pan out.

“This weekend has been very quali-focused, it’s just the way the sessions went,” he said.

“We’ll obviously try and do the best we can to move forward.

“If you have a pace advantage, there’s good overtaking here, it’s just whether we’re going to have that pace advantage.

“We’ve improved the car every day, every session,” he added.

“It’s a shame to do all that work and just miss out.

“But I think we’re doing all the right things, We just need to make another step.”

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix begins at 03:00 AEST on Sunday morning.

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