F1 fans have come up with a brand new Liam Lawson nickname after matching a 49-year record in Baku

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Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson was one of the standout stars from a manic Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session.

Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, putting in a stellar lap amid all of the chaos.

After a record six red flags, Verstappen will be joined by Williams driver Carlos Sainz on the front row of the grid, and was arguably one more crash away from taking pole position in Q3.

The best of the rest behind the two drivers was Racing Bulls youngster Liam Lawson, producing his best qualifying result in his Formula 1 career.

The last time a driver from New Zealand qualified third or better for a Formula 1 race was Chris Amon 49 years ago at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix.

Amon crashed out 38 laps into that race for Ensign, and Lawson will be hoping not to emulate the F1’s greatest driver without a win.

Lawson’s fans have given him nicknames in the past, but after beating both Mercedes drivers, both Ferraris and both McLarens, the 23-year-old has earned another moniker after his brilliant Baku performance.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Liam Lawson earns ‘Lightning’ nickname after career-best Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying

Lawson featured in an Instagram video on the official Racing Bulls account after his career-best qualifying session.

It shows him picking up a piece of paper blown into his driver’s room with ‘P3’ written on it, making a subtle reference to the windy conditions that caused so many issues on Saturday.

In an Instagram post on his own account, Lawson said: “Today was definitely not a breeze. Super proud of the team, will roll off P3 tomorrow.”

IndyCar star Scott Dixon said: “Let’s go, bro!” while Formula 2 star Richard Verschoor replied: “Well done, mate.”

In response to his original post, plenty of fans responded to Lawson and gave him his new nickname, which is a reference to the film Cars, which the 23-year-old is famously a big fan of.

One fan said: “Lightning Lawson or Liam McQueen?”

Another person replied: “Let’s go, Lightning,” while one comment read: “Lightning McQueen more like Lightning Lawson.”

“Liam-ning McQueen,” said another message, and one person admitted: “Man, I hope Liam can get on the podium and shut the haters up.”

One fan replied: “I hope he gets a podium tomorrow; he truly deserves it,” while another made this impressive claim: “Liam Lawson is the most underrated driver in the F1 paddock. He’s a future world champion.”

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Liam Lawson lauds ‘most crazy’ Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session

Speaking in his official post-session media interview, Lawson admitted: “It’s obviously been a great day.

“It was one of the most crazy qualifying sessions I’ve been in, but we did the right thing by playing it safe to maximise laps.

“When it’s windy, it’s arguably more tricky than rain, because you don’t know where it’s coming from. It was changing from lap to lap, but we committed, and I feel super happy that everything came together for a strong quali result.

“It’s going to be a hard race tomorrow, but it’s a great position to start in. We’re well aware of the guys who we’re racing around us, but we’ll work hard as a team and fight to keep position.”

His teammate, Isack Hadjar, was frustrated in qualifying after Lawson capitalised on his final lap, and the Frenchman made a mistake.

Lawson is fighting for his F1 future right now, with the New Zealander potentially in a head-to-head battle with Yuki Tsunoda to secure a Racing Bulls seat next season.

Tsunoda produced his best qualifying result since his Red Bull promotion, but he’ll still start three places behind the 23-year-old.