Liam Lawson disqualified from Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying

Lawson loses Mexico qualifying spot

Liam Lawson lost his ninth-place starting position for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix after the FIA disqualified his Racing Bulls car for a technical infringement. Lawson originally qualified eighth, but the one-place grid penalty he acquired after making contact with Max Verstappen in practice meant he was due to start ninth. Racing Bulls showed significant pace at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which allowed them to place both cars into Q3. The team emerged as the best of the rest, with the cars occupying eighth and ninth. I find the disqualification inevitable because technical compliance is mandatory at all times during an event. Lawson, driving car 30, now faces a recovery drive from the very back of the grid on Sunday after being excluded from the qualifying results.

The MGU-K technicality

The disqualification follows an investigation into a breach of the minimum MGU-K power requirement during Lawson’s fastest lap in Q2 at 15:47:36. The stewards’ decision document stated that after the control line at the end of the lap, the driver did not lift off the power immediately. This failure meant the rate of reduction of MGU-K deployment required to achieve the regulated "step down" was not achieved. The FIA clarified that Lawson ran out of battery power at the end of his flying lap, causing his MGU-K deployment to drop off completely and the MGU-K power output to fall from 350kW to zero instantly. This sudden drop violated Article C5.12.6, which mandates that the electrical DC power of the ERS-K must be reduced gradually. The regulations stipulate that the driver maximum power demand must not be reduced at any greater than the rates defined below while the electrical DC power of the ERS-K is above 100kW:

The rule ensures that the electrical power reduction follows a specific gradient. Racing Bulls argued during the hearing that the infringement did not provide any performance advantage. The stewards noted that the team self-disclosed the breach, but they maintained that non-compliance is not excused if a car fails to comply with technical regulations. They cited a multitude of precedents that require a penalty of disqualification regardless of mitigating circumstances. This enforcement follows previous FIA actions against teams that attempted to circumvent rampdown rates during qualifying.

Verstappen and the standings

Lawson enters Sunday with a heavy workload following a weekend of on-track friction. During the second hour of Free Practice 2 on Friday, Lawson and Max Verstappen engaged in a skirmish over track position in the stadium complex. This contact resulted in front-wing damage for Lawson and bargeboard damage for Verstappen’s RB22. Both drivers received a one-place grid penalty and a point on their FIA super licence because the stewards described the collision as unacceptable. Verstappen told the media he had "no idea what went through Liam’s head" and suggested the driver should "just think logically" about his situation. He also noted that while he has always supported Lawson, he did not consider the driver’s behaviour to be "very smart" during the practice session. Lawson apologized to Verstappen on Saturday morning to clear the air, stating it was never his intention to make contact. He added that he would learn from the incident going forward. Verstappen remained tight-lipped regarding the Racing Bulls seat for 2027, though he noted that the team would decide whether to give talented drivers a chance. This disqualification benefits Alpine, as the team fights Racing Bulls for fifth place in the championship. Racing Bulls maintains a 33-point advantage in the standings even though Lawson must start from the very back of the grid.