Arvid Lindblad told to ‘take a bow’ after destroying Liam Lawson at the Japanese Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Arvid Lindblad has received huge praise after destroying Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson during qualifying for the 2026 F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Saturday.

Racing Bulls saw Lindblad reach Q3 for the second time already in his rookie F1 season, after only three rounds. The 18-year-old also made the top-10 shoot-out in qualifying in Australia on debut earlier in March, while Lawson has so far reached Q3 just once, also in Melbourne.

Lindblad was even a mere 0.005 seconds away from being the lead Red Bull family driver in Q2 at the Japanese GP. Isack Hadjar just edged Lindblad for P9 and P10 in the Q2 timesheet with lap times of 1:30.104 and 1:30.109, while Max Verstappen and Lawson both fell away.

Verstappen was irate about the handling of his Red Bull during qualifying in Japan, with the four-time champion labelling the RB22 “undriveable” around Suzuka. Hadjar also feared he would crash during qualifying, as Mercedes ace Andrea Kimi Antonelli scored pole in Japan.

Here’s how the grid will line up for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Which driver can spring a surprise at Suzuka?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Arvid Lindblad is praised for out-qualifying Liam Lawson by 0.386s in Q2 at the Japanese Grand Prix

Alice Powell was most impressed by the margin that Lindblad enjoyed over his Racing Bulls teammate Lawson during Q2 at the Japanese GP. The Briton’s lap time for P10 in Q2, and a spot in Q3, was 0.386s faster than the 1:30.495 that Lawson penned to qualify in only P14.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 F1 Japanese Grand Prix, including the race start time

Former W Series driver Powell believes Lindblad deserved to “take a bow” after destroying Lawson by such a margin during Q2 at Suzuka. It was also the first time that the rookie had out-qualified Lawson, who has registered his 38th Grand Prix entry in Japan this weekend.

“Arvid Lindblad, take a bow!” Powell stated on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. “He is four-tenths quicker than his teammate. He’s done a great job sailing through.”

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson says he had a ‘front wing issue’ during Q2 at Suzuka

Isack Hadjar thought he ‘was going to crash’ due to Red Bull’s issues during qualifying in Japan – How many Grand Prix wins do you now predict they can score in 2026?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Lawson was the fastest Racing Bulls racer during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix, as well as the Sprint in Shanghai. The 24-year-old was also 1.253s faster than Lindblad in Q3 in Australia, 0.334s faster in SQ2 and 0.019s faster in Q2 in China.

Yet Lindblad turned the tide during Q2 at the Japanese GP on Saturday, although his 0.386s advantage over Lawson was not a true reflection of their respective speed around Suzuka. A front wing issue derailed Lawson’s qualifying, after being 0.124s quicker than Lindblad in Q1.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Lawson said, via quotes by The New Zealand Herald, after qualifying. “We had a strong car this weekend, we had potential to find even more in quali. We had an issue with the front wing in Q2. It’s a shame for sure, we’ll try to move forward tomorrow.”