Liam Lawson is facing a tense wait to see if he can take part in his first qualifying session as a Red Bull Racing F1 driver, as technical issues hit his RB21.

A power unit issue hit Lawson’s car ahead of qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson PU issue ahead of Australian Grand Prix qualifying

Lawson, who is taking part in what is the closest thing to his home race this weekend in Australia, is making his debut as a full-time Formula 1 driver this weekend, pairing up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing.

But he is facing a steep challenge to bring home points in Sunday’s Grand Prix, as a power unit issue has put him on the back foot ahead of qualifying.

The Kiwi driver had headed out on track in the third practice session when he was instructed to return to the pits, leading to him querying whether the issue affecting his car was serious – the problem proving serious enough to prevent him from setting a laptime.

The issue, according to Red Bull ahead of qualifying, was a “PU or PU system problem on the air side” as the team worked hard to address the problem.

With 10 minutes to go until qualifying, Lawson’s car is still being worked on but team boss Christian Horner told Sky F1 that he should be able to take part in qualifying – but is up against it, having lost an extra hour of track time at a circuit he’s never driven at before in any category.

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