Liam Lawson disqualified from Mexican Grand Prix qualifying after MGU-K breach
Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson was excluded from the Mexican Grand Prix qualifying results after his car was found to have violated the MGU-K power-down regulations.
Liam Lawson’s eighth-fastest qualifying time for the Mexican Grand Prix was nullified after the FIA determined his car breached the hybrid-power deployment rules. The infringement concerned the rate at which the MGU-K’s electrical power and the driver’s maximum power demand were reduced at the end of his Q2 lap.
Technical delegate Jo Bauer reported that the reductions occurred faster than the permitted 50 kW or 100 kW per second, causing the system to cut power abruptly. The regulations require a gradual fade-out to avoid unsafe loss of power on track.
"The team argued that this did not provide any performance advantage however it is clear that non-compliance with the technical regulations is not excused if no performance advantage is gained," the stewards’ report stated.
Racing Bulls, Lawson’s team, contended that the maneuver offered no performance benefit, noting that a similar failsafe mode has been used by other teams in emergency situations but results in a mandatory minute-long lockout of the MGU-K. The stewards rejected the argument and upheld the disqualification. Lawson will start the race from the back of the grid, having also incurred a one-place grid penalty for a collision with Max Verstappen in practice.