Liam Lawson’s promising qualifying performance in Mexico City has been wiped from the record after the Racing Bulls driver was disqualified for a technical infringement, dropping him from ninth place to the back of Sunday’s grid.
Lawson had helped Racing Bulls secure a double appearance in Q3 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the team initially claiming eighth and ninth on the grid.
But a post-session examination of his car revealed that its MGU-K power output had fallen outside the limits prescribed by the FIA technical regulations during his fastest lap in Q2.
The ruling leaves Lawson with a substantial recovery task and hands a potential advantage to Alpine in the fight for fifth in the constructors’ championship.
Failure to meet MGU-K rampdown limits
The infringement occurred just after Lawson crossed the control line at the end of his quickest Q2 lap. The FIA found that the New Zealander had exhausted his battery energy, causing MGU-K deployment to stop abruptly and its output to plunge from 350kW to zero.
Regulations require electrical power to be reduced progressively, at a maximum rate of either 50kW or 100kW per second, depending on the event. The stewards said the evidence showed Lawson “did not lift off the power immediately” after crossing the line, preventing the required rampdown from being achieved.
They concluded that “the driver maximum power demand and the electrical DC power of the ERS-K were reduced at greater rates than what is permitted by the Regulations.”
No advantage, but disqualification stands
Racing Bulls argued that the breach had delivered no performance benefit, and the stewards acknowledged that the team had voluntarily disclosed the issue. Neither point, however, could spare Lawson from the standard penalty.
“The team argued that this did not provide any performance advantage however it is clear that non-compliance with the Technical Regulations is not excused if no performance advantage is gained,” the stewards stated.
They added that the car must comply with the regulations “at all times during an event”, while noting that precedent required disqualification despite mitigating circumstances.
The ruling is particularly significant given the FIA’s earlier scrutiny of MGU-K rampdown procedures, following concerns about qualifying techniques used by Mercedes and Red Bull.
Lawson must now start from the rear of the field on Sunday, a setback for Racing Bulls and a boost for Alpine, one of its rivals for fifth in the constructors’ standings. Racing Bulls nevertheless retains a 33-point advantage over Alpine in that battle.
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