Liam Lawson admits frustration as Racing Bulls reject his qualifying request

Lawson reached the top ten shootout with two fresh sets of tyres available, but the team decided to save them for Sunday’s race. With teammate Arvid Lindblad facing a five-place grid penalty, Racing Bulls opted not to allow Lawson to do a run, perhaps with the belief that they wouldn't finish in the top eight, so ninth was guaranteed regardless.

“I would have loved to have a go,” Lawson said. “We actually got there with two sets (of tyres), which is not normal for us. In a normal situation, if we’re fighting an Alpine or an Audi, having those two sets would have been great to use.”

The driver said he had made his preference clear but the team stuck with their decision. “I asked to go out, honestly. I’ll be honest. I said, ‘I want to go and do it,’ and they said no. So, yeah, it’s frustrating a little bit for a driver, especially because we’ve had a very strong weekend so far and the car’s been very good.”

“Going to Q3 with two sets of tyres would have been lots of fun,” he added. The team’s decision, while frustrating to Lawson, could give him an advantage in Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas.

Arvid Lindblad did do a lap despite a five-place grid penalty for the US Grand Prix. He will line up in 14th place, dropping behind his teammate, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman.

The Brit is one of three drivers to get a grid penalty for Sunday's race. Gabriel Bortoleto will start from the back after taking 60 places worth of grid penalties following a power unit change. He will be joined by Franco Colapinto who has got a 20-place drop.