Liam Lawson will start the Mexico City Grand Prix from the back of the grid. The Racing Bulls driver has been removed from the qualifying results because his car failed to comply with the technical regulations for the MGU-K. The stewards have nevertheless given him permission to take part in the race.

After his FP2 collision with Max Verstappen, Lawson had already been handed a one-place grid penalty. His eighth-fastest time in qualifying would have earned him ninth on the grid, but following his DSQ, he will have to line up at the very back.

Why was Lawson disqualified?

The infringement occurred at the end of Lawson's fastest lap in Q2. The evidence showed that he did not immediately lift off the throttle after crossing the finish line. As a result, the power delivered by the MGU-K was not reduced in accordance with the required deployment profile. The MGU-K is the component of the power unit that can recover electrical energy and provide additional power to the wheels.

Technical regulations govern how this power output must be reduced. According to the stewards, Lawson's car did not comply with Articles C5.12.6 and C5.12.7 of the Formula 1 regulations at the time in question. Before reaching their decision, the stewards heard from Lawson, representatives of Racing Bulls and several FIA officials. All parties present accepted the evidence on which the decision was based. Racing Bulls published a brief statement about the matter on its channels.

Lawson disqualified despite Racing Bulls reporting incident

Racing Bulls had reported the infringement itself and argued that Lawson had gained no advantage from it. The stewards considered that argument insufficient to warrant a different penalty. A car must comply with the technical regulations throughout the entire event, even when an infringement does not result in a time gain.

The stewards took Racing Bulls' self-reporting into account, however, they pointed to previous similar cases in which a technical infringement had led to disqualification despite mitigating circumstances. Lawson was therefore relegated to the final position. In a separate decision, he was subsequently given permission to start the race. The provisional grid confirms that he may start from the last row, alongside Valtteri Bottas.

Verstappen remains fifth on the grid

The disqualification naturally has no effect on Verstappen's grid position. After his own grid penalty, the Dutchman is fifth on the provisional grid, behind Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli. Arvid Lindblad takes eighth place behind Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar. Pierre Gasly moves up to ninth, while Nico Hülkenberg completes the top ten. Starting from 22nd, Lawson faces a charge through the field if he is to score points.