Liam Lawson issues reliability warning after being stunned by qualifying performance

Liam Lawson has conceded to being stunned by how well Racing Bulls performed in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.

Lawson and team-mate Arvid Lindblad will start a superb eighth and ninth on the grid at Melbourne's Albert Park, reaching the top-10 shoot-out on merit to set themselves up for a reasonable points haul from the race if the cars remain reliable.

It was a performance the New Zealander did not see coming following testing in Bahrain in February when Racing Bulls did not appear to be on the pace of its midfield rivals.

Whilst conceding Saturday's result was "definitely what we were shooting for", speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, he added, "but we probably weren't expecting this, especially after Bahrain.

"It definitely wasn't a track that suited us. A lot of teams brought upgrades there, and we obviously brought some this weekend. On paper, they looked great, but until you put them on the car, you don't know.

"It's a great feeling to know it's worked well this weekend, and to have two cars in Q3 is very, very good."

Racing Bulls upgraded the car with a new floor, engine cover, cooling louvres and rear corner, with the initial two components providing more downforce and improved aerodynamics.

In tandem, the reliability of the power unit has also been an added strength, in particular, as it is the first to be developed by Red Bull Powertrains, in partnership with Ford.

"Honestly, the efforts from Ford and Powertrains have been very, very strong so far," said Lawson. "To have an engine that's working very well, obviously, we find out tomorrow how reliable all the cars are.

"But we've honestly had a strong pre-season with reliability so far, and our long run pace has been okay as well."

As to Lawson's expectations for the race, he replied: "The goal is to try and stay where we are, but truthfully, it's very hard to know exactly where we sit compared to everybody else.

"We've had good long run pace, but I think the biggest thing is going to be having a reliable car."