Liam Lawson has been disqualified from the qualifying result at the Mexico City Grand Prix after a post-session technical breach, reshuffling the starting order for Sunday's race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position for the 105th time in his career, his first since 2023 and his first as a Ferrari driver.
FIA report and technical breach
After qualifying, FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer reported that Lawson's Racing Bulls car was "in breach of the minimum MGU-K power requirement just after crossing the line on his fastest lap in Q2". The lap in question secured his place in the top 10, making him eligible for Q3.
The F1 regulations limit how much the battery power output can decrease at a time, aiming to prevent unsafe situations with large closing speeds between cars with full and depleted batteries. The matter was reported to the stewards, and technical breaches that fail FIA scrutineer checks are invariably disqualified from the session.
Grid penalty and collision fallout
Lawson had qualified eighth on the road but had already been bumped down to ninth by a one-place grid penalty. That penalty was earned for a collision with Max Verstappen during Friday practice, when both drivers refused to back out of flying laps and collided, damaging both cars. The stewards issued both drivers the same punishment.
Lawson's penalty has been rendered moot by his qualifying disqualification, but Verstappen will still serve his and starts fifth despite being fourth fastest on the road.
Verstappen's criticism and apology
Verstappen was furious with Lawson, accusing his former team-mate of "not-very-smart behaviour". He added: "At the end of the day, it's not going to change my weekend but, if I were him, I would be acting a little bit smarter. Also, when you're fighting for your seat, it's not very smart behaviour."
Clear the air talks were held between the two Red Bull-affiliated drivers, and Lawson publicly apologised. He said: "I went to see Max this morning to apologise. Obviously, what happened yesterday doesn't need to happen, I don't want to have that happen in the future. And obviously, right now, it's not the best time."
Lawson was referring to the fact that, despite a strong season on paper, he has not yet secured a place on the 2027 grid. Racing Bulls have to fit three strong candidates into two, with rookie Arvid Lindblad and Formula 2 title contender Nikola Tsolov also in the mix.
