Liam Lawson faces a nervous wait at Formula One’s Canadian Grand Prix, after being forced to stop on track during the only practice session in Montreal. 

With the weekend’s practice shortened by the sprint format, Lawson was only able to complete five laps at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, before a suspected hydraulic issue saw him complain of a loss of his power steering at turn two. 

Despite the limited running time, the Kiwi’s best time of 1m 17.431s was enough for 18th place - albeit 4.029s back from Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who topped the time charts with a 1m 13.402s. 

The issues are just the latest for Lawson, who was forced out of the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month, after a mechanical failure left him unable to avoid contact with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and the resulting crash ended both drivers’ races. 

Worryingly for Lawson, though, he’ll be entering sprint qualifying later on Saturday morning with limited opportunity to learn the track, and how the 2026 Formula One cars drive on it, after this season’s regulation changes. 

What’s more, the Kiwi has also been referred to the race stewards, after stopping on track without a functional clutch disengagement system (CDS). 

The clutch disengagement system is integral to the safe removal of a car by marshals. It allows a crashed or stopped car to have its clutch disengaged by stewards without the engine running. 

If found to be in breach of the FIA’s Article C9.3, Lawson could be handed a punishment by the stewards to carry into sprint qualifying, if not the race itself. 

“When car 30 stopped on the track during FP1, the marshals pressed the CDS button at 12:41,” wrote FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer. 

“But it turned out that the CDS was not working as required by the F1 Regulations, Article C9.3. I am referring this matter to the Stewards for their consideration.” 

Article C9.3 of the technical regulations states: “All cars must be fitted with a means of disengaging the clutch for a minimum of fifteen minutes in the event of the car coming to rest with the engine stopped. 

“This system must be in working order throughout the Competition even if the main hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical systems on the car have failed. 

“This system must also shut down the ERS, as required by article C5.17.1. In order that the driver or a marshal may activate the system in less than five seconds, the button which operates it must: 

“a. Face upwards and be recessed into the top of the Survival Cell and be positioned according to Drawing 10 of Appendix C3. 

“b. Be designed in order that a marshal is unable to accidentally re−engage the Clutch. 

“c. Be marked according to Drawing 10 of Appendix C3.” 

Sprint qualifying gets underway at 8:30am (NZT). 

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.