Lawson qualified 12th in Montreal after earlier finishing 11th in the sprint race, while teammate Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive weekend by scoring a point in eighth before qualifying ninth for Sunday’s grand prix.
The Kiwi said he was still recovering from a disrupted Friday after a hydraulics issue severely limited his running at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“The car is really fast this weekend, so it’s a shame to not put both cars in Q3,” Lawson said.
“I was still trying to catch up after yesterday and it was more difficult than expected.
“At the start of qualifying, I struggled a bit with the warm-up on the soft tyre.
“I also had some front locking and it meant that I ended up putting a lot of pressure on myself during the last push lap to try and get through.
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“We came very close, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”
Lawson missed out on progressing to Q3 by just 0.040s after only completing limited laps during Friday’s disrupted running.
Despite falling short in qualifying, the New Zealander showed strong race pace in the sprint, climbing six positions across the 23-lap race and ending the session with the most overtakes of any driver.
Lawson originally crossed the line in 12th before being promoted to 11th after Cadillac driver Sergio Perez received a penalty for forcing him wide during their battle.
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The Racing Bulls driver said forecast rain for Sunday’s grand prix could provide opportunities to move forward from 12th on the grid.
“Let’s see what happens tomorrow; we have a quick car on the dry, but I also wouldn’t mind having some rain, considering where we start,” he said.
“These cars are hard to drive in the wet, so if it rains as expected, it will be an interesting race.”
Racing Bulls technical director Dan Fallows praised Lawson’s recovery drive in the sprint after the difficult start to his weekend, while also highlighting the team’s upgraded package in Canada.
“It has been a clean and successful day today for the team, bringing home a well-deserved point for 8th place in the Sprint Race with Arvid,” Fallows said.
“We opted for him to run the hard tyre, which we were mindful could make him vulnerable in the opening laps, however he started well and went on to capitalise on his excellent performance in sprint qualifying on Friday.
“Having only run two laps at pace on a difficult Friday, Liam got to grips with the car quickly today and managed to gain six places, which is an impressive achievement in a sprint race.”
Fallows added that Lawson had immediately shown strong pace once qualifying began, despite his lack of previous running on the soft compound.
“Qualifying showed our strong pace this weekend at the top of the midfield,” he said.
“It was Liam’s first outing of the weekend on the soft tyres, but he was immediately on the pace, missing out on Q3 by only half a tenth.
“The team in Milton Keynes and Faenza have done a great job to deliver a clear step with the upgrades here in Canada.
“We look forward to fighting for points with both drivers in the race tomorrow.”
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