Liam Lawson rates podium chances after surprise P3 in Azerbaijan GP qualifying

Liam Lawson believes “anything’s possible” as he targets a podium after a surprise P3 in Azerbaijan GP F1 qualifying.

Lawson capitalised on a chaotic qualifying session on Saturday, where there were six red flag stoppages, to secure third on the grid.

The Kiwi was a provisional second after the first runs in Q3. That was because the majority of the grid hadn’t set a lap following Oscar Piastri's crash.

Despite conditions being tricky at the end of the session, Lawson improved his lap, beating the two Mercedes drivers to secure third on the grid.

Reflecting on qualifying, Lawson explained how difficult the conditions were due to the light rain.

“The hardest thing honestly is when it starts raining and you see it,” Lawson explained.

“You see it on your visor and you can see the gloss starting on the track but you still have tyre temperatures.

“You’re fighting your brain not to brake early and lift because everything is telling you there’s going to be less grip and there’s not. I didn’t maximise the first lap in Q3 and Carlos did.

“He did a great lap. It was raining a little bit in the last lap and honestly, I ignored all of it, carried on and pretended it wasn’t, and it worked.”

Lawson on podium chances

The chaotic session meant that a number of the big hitters were out of position.

Lando Norris could only qualify seventh after a scrappy lap, two places ahead of F1 title rival Piastri.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start the race from 10th and 12th respectively.

While Lawson acknowledged that he expects to be put under pressure from the “very quick guys” from behind, he’s confident of hanging onto the podium if the conditions remain as difficult as they were in qualifying.

“We’d love to. The car has been very good recently so I am not going to say it’s not going to be fast tomorrow,” Lawson added.

“We know there’s very, very quick guys coming from behind us. Obviously, we will try to do the best that we can. I am sure it’s going to be a tough race. If it’s anything like today with these conditions then anything’s possible.”