Liam Lawson finishes Bahrain Grand Prix in 17th

Lawson crossed the line in 13th for Racing Bulls. However, two separate time penalties for causing collisions dropped him back to 17th place. And that is where he qualified.

The race was won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, his second win of the season. He narrowed the points gap to his teammate Lando Norris, who ran third after an eventful race.

Lawson incurred a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Lance Stroll after avoiding debris on the track during a safety car period. He later picked up a 10-second infringement for a suspect pass on Nico Hulkenberg.

Lawson was still optimistic despite it all. “The race was action packed. We had good speed but just couldn’t really use it” he said.

“I wasn’t intentionally touching others, but obviously the stewards made their decision with the penalties.

“It’s a shame we don’t have the results to show us pushing forwards as a team, as the car was really fast in qualifying and we didn’t get to show it.

“The car was also fast in the race but there’s obviously only so much you can do starting from the back. It was a race that just didn’t quite come together.”

Lawson beat Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar across the line but his was one of four places the 23-year-old forfeited due to time penalties.

“For Liam, it may not have showed on the time sheet, but he made a very significant step forward compared to Japan,” Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies said.

“The pace is there, building up step by step. We look forward to being able to piece it all together as we go racing again next week in Jeddah.”

Piastri started on pole and kept George Russell behind him, fending off a challenge for the lead after a safety-car restart.

Russell held on to second after defending his position on the last lap from Norris, who had started sixth.

“It’s been an incredible weekend,” Piastri said after claiming McLaren’s first-ever win in Bahrain. “To finish the job today in style was nice.”

Norris keeps the lead of the championship with a three-point advantage over Piastri. Defending champion Max Verstappen, who finished sixth, is five points further back in third.

Verstappen was never in contention in Bahrain and was even last at one stage. He survived an overheating car and a slow pit stop to place sixth.

Esteban Ocon of Haas was eighth, with Yuki Tsunoda ninth for his first points since replacing Lawson at Red Bull.