Lawson to start third after wet São Paulo qualifying

Liam Lawson qualified fifth in wet conditions at the São Paulo Grand Prix on Saturday, then moved up to third on the provisional starting grid after penalties for George Russell and Charles Leclerc. The Racing Bulls driver said traffic involving Fernando Alonso and worsening rain prevented him from completing a later qualifying attempt, leaving him frustrated that he had not made the most of the car’s pace.

Lawson reached the final qualifying segment, Q3, after a rain-disrupted session at Interlagos. He said he caught Alonso during his first attempt and then abandoned a subsequent run as conditions deteriorated. The rain prevented him from recording another time, leaving his fifth-fastest lap as his qualifying result.

“I think as a driver you want to maximise it and I feel like we didnt quite today,” Lawson said after qualifying. He added that he had caught Alonso too closely on the first lap and had to abort the second attempt. Lawson said he believed the car had enough pace to challenge drivers near the front, but did not say what position he could have achieved with another lap.

Grid penalties for Russell and Charles Leclerc are set to promote Lawson two places, giving him a...