Liam Lawson to start ninth at US Grand Prix

Liam Lawson will start ninth in the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas after qualifying for the final session. Racing Bulls chose not to send Lawson out during the Q3 session to preserve fresh tyres for the race, as teammate Arvid Lindblad's five-place grid penalty for a power unit change promoted Lawson from tenth to ninth. "It’s a shame, honestly. I managed to get through Q1 on one set [of tyres] and we had two new sets for Q3, so I was ready to have a proper go at it," Lawson said.

Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the race, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver can clinch his first Formula One world championship on Monday morning if he wins and George Russell finishes ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower. Antonelli currently leads Russell by 102 points with six races remaining.

Lawson, aged 24, narrowly progressed through the second stage of qualifying by just 0.022 seconds with a time of 1m 35.058s. This result marks his eighth top-10 qualifying performance of the season. Lawson had previously shown strong pace during practice, finishing sixth in the second session with a time of 1m 36.331s.

The Racing Bulls drivers are currently the only two on the grid without confirmed seats for 2027. While Lawson's future remains unconfirmed despite recent points-scoring performances, sources have indicated that both he and Lindblad will be retained beyond this year.

Where reports differ

• The reports provide different championship clinching scenarios for Antonelli

Compiled from reports by NZ Herald, Stuff and 1News.