Seven years apart, Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo face similar F1 penalties
Liam Lawson has been disqualified from qualifying for the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix after his Racing Bulls car breached Formula 1′s technical regulations, forcing the New Zealander to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid.
The decision came after Saturday’s qualifying session, where Lawson had initially secured eighth place. He was already facing a one-place grid penalty following a collision with Max Verstappen during Friday’s second practice session.
However, an investigation into his car’s electrical power deployment resulted in a more severe punishment.
According to the FIA, Lawson’s car breached Articles C5.12.6 and C5.12.7 of the technical regulations during the second qualifying session.
Officials found that its Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), which recovers and deploys electrical energy, failed to reduce power at the required rate after Lawson completed his fastest Q2 lap.
The stewards established that Lawson had not lifted off the accelerator immediately after crossing the timing line, preventing the system from meeting the regulations.
Racing Bulls acknowledged the infringement but argued that it had not given the driver a competitive advantage.
The stewards rejected that argument, explaining that technical compliance is mandatory regardless of whether an infringement improves performance.
A similar MGU-K infringement led to Daniel Ricciardo‘s disqualification from qualifying at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
How does the disqualification change the starting grid?
Lawson’s exclusion moves his Racing Bulls team-mate Arvid Lindblad up to eighth, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg advance to ninth and tenth respectively.
Lewis Hamilton retains pole position after setting a fastest lap of 1:16.514 for Ferrari, just 0.009 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.
Charles Leclerc qualified third in the second Ferrari, followed by Max Verstappen and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
McLaren’s Lando Norris starts sixth, while his team-mate Oscar Piastri faces a difficult race after failing to reach Q3.
The revised classification also places Ryo Hirakawa 19th ahead of his first Formula 1 Grand Prix following his unexpected replacement of Esteban Ocon at Haas.
