Formula 1: Liam Lawson starts from back of grid at Mexico City

Liam Lawson will start the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix from the rear of the grid after stewards disqualified his Racing Bulls car from qualifying results on Sunday.

The New Zealand driver initially recorded the eighth-fastest time in qualifying sessions held on Saturday. However, a penalty for a collision with Max Verstappen during the session had already pushed Lawson back to ninth place on the grid. The disqualification now forces him to start from last position.

The decision followed an investigation led by Jo Bauer, the FIA technical delegate. Bauer determined that Lawson's vehicle breached the minimum MGU-K power requirement during the qualifying session. The technical delegate referred the matter to the stewards for a formal hearing, which Lawson attended.

The stewards' decision, published on the Formula 1 website, cited evidence accepted by all parties present. The data showed that after crossing the control line at the end of Lawson's fastest lap in Q2, the driver did not lift off the power immediately. This action prevented the car from achieving the regulated step down in MGU-K deployment.

Racing Bulls argued that the technical breach provided no performance advantage. The stewards rejected this argument, stating that non-compliance with technical regulations is not excused even if no advantage is gained. The panel noted that regulations require a car to comply at all times during an event. The stewards acknowledged that the team self-disclosed the breach but cited precedents requiring disqualification when technical compliance is not met.

Lawson's teammate Arvin Lindblad will start from eighth place. Lewis Hamilton secured pole position, marking his 105th career pole and his first in over three years. George Russell finished second, missing pole by 0.009 seconds. Charles Leclerc qualified third. Max Verstappen qualified fourth but drops to fifth on the grid due to a penalty similar to Lawson's. Kimi Antonelli, who was fifth fastest in qualifying, moves up to fourth place because of Verstappen's penalty.

The grand prix is scheduled to begin at 9am on Sunday. Kimi Antonelli will become the youngest champion in Formula 1 history if he finishes the race in ninth place or better.