"Oh my god": Liam Lawson's devastated reaction as the driver gets eliminated in Q1 of the F1 Bahrain GP

F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain - Qualifying - Source: Getty — Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls - Source: Getty

Liam Lawson's disappointing display didn't seem to end as the Racing Bulls driver faced an early exit from the Bahrain GP qualifying. While battling for an entry into Q2, Lawson failed to match Nico Hulkenberg's time and, as a result, was out in P17.

Lawson had an underwhelming start to the season with Red Bull, experiencing two back-to-back setbacks in Australia and China. As a result, Red Bull's top brass demoted him to Racing Bulls and promoted Yuki Tsunoda.

Even after coming to Racing Bulls, Lawson has so far failed to make his mark as he finished without points once again. After three such races, all eyes were on the Kiwi driver in Bahrain, where he once again failed to make it count.

The #30 driver was over a second slower than Lando Norris (driver in P1 in Q1) and over a tenth slower than Hulkenberg, the driver in P15. As he was out of Q1 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Lawson shared his frustration on the team radio.

Taking to the radio, he said (As heard on live telecast):

"Oh my god."

Here's the post on X by Racing Bulls depicting Liam Lawson's exit:

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Tsunoda, who replaced Lawson at Red Bull, was through to Q2. He was in P14 at the time of Checkered Flag. Isack Hadjar, Lawson's teammate at Racing Bulls ended the session in P10. Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen were the top three drivers in Q1.

Reason behind Liam Lawson's exit from Q1 in Bahrain surfaced

After Liam Lawson faced an early exit in Bahrain, all eyes were on the driver over his underwhelming outing. However, as per reports that surfaced after Q1, it wasn't the driver's fault that threw him out of the session.

As per Junaid Samodien on X, the Racing Bulls driver had an issue with his DRS wing. According to his race engineer, Ernesto Desiderio, the wing "opened and then closed".

Here's the post on Lawson's issue:

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Besides Lawson, another shocking name that went out of Q1 was Alex Albon. Going by his radio after the session, the Williams driver was far from impressed with the setup of his car.

About the author

Sabyasachi Biswas is a passionate motorsport journalist for Sportskeeda, with a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has over eight years of experience in the field and has over 10000 published articles on the internet.

As a dedicated follower of motorsport, Sabyasachi watches events closely, ensuring his reports are thorough and supported by reputable sources. He is inspired by Max Verstappen’s fearless attitude and dreams of attending the Indian GP if it returns to the calendar. An ardent F1 fan over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel and is now following Verstappen's dominant journey on the track.

Apart from F1, he is a big-time NASCAR and football (also soccer) fan. Sabyasachi supports Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Spanish club, Real Madrid.

He was a sub-junior level footballer and won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak by nature, Sabyasachi likes to try different cuisines and learn about new cultures. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys soccer, geopolitics, and playing with Khushi & Ubbu - his adorable beagles.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl