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An encouraging start soon fell apart following his first stop and the RB driver struggled for pace thereafter.
Taking a mid-race gamble on strategy, that too backfired and left the Kiwi as the last car on the lead lap at the chequered flag.
“It was very, very tough,” Lawson admitted.
“We started okay, the first stint was okay, and then I think the second stint there, just in and around traffic.
“I think everyone was struggling with graining, we definitely struggled with it.
“There was a period there where I think we realised we weren’t really fighting for points.
“We tried to extend and potentially one-stop but extending in the end we just lost a lot of time and that’s why we boxed again.”
An early scrap with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas saw the pair run side by side through the Turn 14-16 complex, Lawson’s front wing end plate taking a knock in the process.
If there was damage, it was inconsequential as the Kiwi reasoned that other issues hampered his progress more.
“We definitely had our own share of issues this weekend, through quali and the race with similar issues today as yesterday,” Lawson admitted.
“That’s really costing us quite a lot so we’ll look into it and hopefully result it for next week.”
Primarily, Lawson’s concerns centre on braking, and a lack of overall grip when slowing the car, which leads to locking.
“We have a lot of locking, rear locking, and just struggling to really maximise,” he explained.
“It’s obviously very slippery and hard to really push the limits on a track like this, but for whatever reason, we struggled with that this weekend.”
While Lawson was 16th, team-mate Yuki Tsunoda saw the flag in ninth to score two points for the team in the constructors’ championship.
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was one position better off, which has seen the American-registered operation regain sixth in the points standings from Alpine, with RB eighth.
The trio are separated by just four points heading into the penultimate round of the season, the Qatar Grand Prix.
Track action in Qatar begins on Friday.
