Liam Lawson rues 'silly mistake' as he exits in Q1 on his Red Bull debut in Australia

Liam Lawson failed to escape Q1 on his Red Bull debut in Qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix following a late off-track excursion.

The New Zealander qualified 18th at Albert Park, meaning he will line up on the second-last row, with only the Haas pairing of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman behind him.

Saturday had already been a difficult day for the new Red Bull driver, with a pneumatic problem with his power unit restricting him to the garage in final practice .

But this was further compounded later in the day when he slid off the track and onto the grass at Turn 13 on his final Q1 effort, leaving him no time to regroup and go again.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 15: Eighteenth placed qualifier Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Oracle — Lawson could only qualify 18th on his Red Bull debut in Australia

“The first part of the lap was fine,” he said following his early exit. “We were on target and then I just made a mistake in the last sector. I had a big slide through the high-speed and it cooked the tyres. Then, in the last sector, I just had no tyres and I went off.

“Obviously, a silly mistake so probably one that didn’t need to happen. I think we were in a decent position building up from the lap we were on anyway, so it’s pretty frustrating.”

Heavy rain has been forecast for Sunday’s Grand Prix, and Lawson made no secret that he will need the conditions to cause some intrigue ahead if he is to progress through the field.

Asked if the car has been improved enough for him to fight in the race, Lawson added: “I think so. I think that we’re in a position to – the car looks a lot better today than it did yesterday.

“Obviously, if it rains, it throws everything up in the air but I think I need it to rain if I want to have a chance at moving forward, so let’s see.”