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Lawson unsure which tyre will work best in Sepang race

Liam Lawson said he was unsure which tyre would be best for the Sepang race, after qualifying 11th and describing tyre overheating during qualifying.

Liam Lawson said he had no clear idea which tyre would be best for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, as teams faced choices over race strategy at Sepang.

The Racing Bulls driver qualified 11th, behind Gabriel Bortoleto in tenth, according to the FIA’s final qualifying classification. Lawson described being knocked out by Bortoleto as frustrating and said he had struggled with tyre overheating during the session.

Lawson also said Racing Bulls had put substantial effort into long runs. RacingNews365 reported that team-mate Arvid Lindblad completed additional long-running in FP3, and quoted Lawson saying the team would review what it had learned.

RacingNews365 described a potential three-stop race, while also noting that soft tyres could be a race option.

Sources 03
  1. SOURCELiam Lawson puzzled over crucial Bahrain GP in Malaysia questionRacingNews365 English
  2. PRIMARY SOURCEWhat To Watch For in the Bahrain Grand Prix in MalaysiaFormula 1
  3. PRIMARY SOURCEDoc 42 - Final Qualifying ClassificationFIA F1 decision documents
Source context

Lawson’s reported uncertainty is a personal assessment, not an objective finding about the best strategy. The report describes a possible three-stop race and says soft tyres could also be viable. No race result or actual tyre choices are available here.

Claims and supporting evidence 4
Lawson said he did not know which tyre would be best for the race.

RacingNews365 reports this as Lawson’s answer when asked about the best race tyre.

[1]
Lawson qualified 11th, behind Gabriel Bortoleto in tenth.

The FIA final qualifying classification lists Bortoleto tenth and Lawson eleventh.

[3]
Lawson said he struggled with tyre overheating in qualifying.

RacingNews365 attributes this account of the session to Lawson.

[1]
Lawson said Racing Bulls had put considerable effort into long runs; RacingNews365 reported that Lindblad did additional long-running in FP3.

The comments and Lindblad practice context are reported by RacingNews365.

[1]
Corrections and updates to this story
06 Oct 2026, 01:49

Lawson unsure which tyre will work best in Sepang race

Manual editorial correction: clarified wording and attribution and removed repeated or source-process prose where present. The underlying reporting and sources are unchanged. / Handmatige redactionele correctie: formuleringen en bronvermelding verduidelijkt; herhaling en controletaal verwijderd waar aanwezig. De verslaggeving en bronnen zijn behouden.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.