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Liam Lawson was eliminated in the first qualifying session for Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix, and will start 17th on the grid as the last-placed of Red Bull’s four cars.

The Kiwi could only manage a best time of 1m 32.165s, and was 0.167s shy of advancing when he was knocked out by the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg - whose time was later deleted.

The elimination was because of an error with Lawson’s car’s drag reduction system (DRS), as his rear wing prematurely closed on the second of three straights, and robbed the 23-year-old of milliseconds that proved vital.

“I don’t really know what happened,” he said. “I had a wheel spin out of the corner, opened DRS, and then it closed again. It’s pretty frustrating. It just sucks.

“[The car] has been quite quick, it’s been quick this weekend in most of the practise sessions.

“For us, it was [about] piecing it together in quali, and tuning it up. We had the car in a pretty good window, the speed was there. It’s just a shame for the issues.

“For tomorrow, it’s obviously positive. [With] the speed we have, we should move forward, it’s just how far forward we can move.”

That 17th position could be upgraded to 16th, after Esteban Ocon crashed his Haas at turn two, and could be forced to start from pit lane after repairs are made.

Lawson’s struggles make for poor reading next to Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar, who will start 12th after reaching the second session, and set a best time of 1m 31.271s - 0.894s quicker than the Kiwi.

Fresh from topping practice, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start from pole after a best lap of 1m 29.841s, while teammate - and world championship rival - Lando Norris starts sixth.

• ‘Speaks for itself’: Verstappen backs criticism of Red Bull’s driver change
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• ‘Gut-wrenching’: Kiwi stars rally behind Lawson after F1 dumping
• ‘I’ll be hated for this': Schumacher's brutal take on Lawson’s skill as F1 driver
• ‘It’s tough’: Liam Lawson breaks silence after Red Bull demotion
• ‘A team in crisis’: What the experts say about Liam Lawson & Red Bull
• ‘Always seem to blame the driver’: Red Bull criticised for timing of Lawson’s demotion

Despite their struggles all weekend, both Red Bull cars reached the final session of qualifying. Max Verstappen will start seventh, and Yuki Tsunoda in 10th.

Mercedes’ George Russell broke McLaren’s dominance to start second, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the big surprise, qualifying fifth.

Lawson can, at the very least, bank on his experience racing in Bahrain in junior categories.

Having raced at the track five times in his two Formula Two seasons, Lawson has one win, three further podium finishes to go with one “Did Not Finish”.

And, given the three DRS zones, the Bahrain International Circuit is a track where drivers can make their way up the grid on track.

However, given his struggles this season, the Kiwi will be lamenting another stroke of misfortune.

Earlier, teams were reluctant to trial too much in the third and final practice session, given the high temperatures on track were not reflective of conditions for the Grand Prix and qualifying.

As Hadjar finished as the fastest of the four Red Bull-backed cars, again, Lawson logged another 14 laps for a best time of 1m 33.370s.

The time bettered Lawson’s mark from practice one by 1.27s.

Those 14 laps mean Lawson has completed 64 across the three practice sessions, greater than the 57-lap distance of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and that he got time on all three sets of tyres.

Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid

1 Oscar Piastri - McLaren

2 George Russell - Mercedes

3 Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

4 Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes

5 Pierre Gasly - Alpine

6 Lando Norris - McLaren

7 Max Verstappen - Red Bull

8 Carlos Sainz - Williams

9 Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari

10 Yuki Tsunoda - Red Bull

11 Jack Doohan - Alpine

12 Isack Hadjar - Racing Bulls

13 Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin

14 Esteban Ocon - Haas

15 Alex Albon - Williams

16 Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber

17 Liam Lawson - Racing Bulls

18 Gabriel Bortoleto - Sauber

19 Lance Stroll - Aston Martin

20 Ollie Bearman - Haas

 is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for Newshub and 1News.