Lawson takes points Sao Paulo, still awaits contract
New Zealand driver Liam Lawson couldn't maintain his starting position on three on the grid, however he still gained points at Formula One's Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old finished eighth, but was then promoted up a place to seventh after Ferrari's Charles Le Clerc was penalised five seconds.
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Defending champion Lando Norris driving forMcLaren won from the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen who started the race 21st and Isack Hadjar who finished third.
Lawson started third and even moved up to second on the first corner but the track dried and the gave advantage to the more powerful teams.
He was passed by Norris on the sixth lap and others soon after and he joined the majority of the cars to pit on lap 18 to change to slick tyres.
Lawson then moved between fifth and eight for the remainder of the race. With George Russell finishing fourth and Kimi Antonelli fifth, Mercedes did enough to clinch the constructors' title.
The New Zealander remains ninth in the drivers' championship with 87 points.
Racing Bulls are are still to confirm their driver lineup for 2027 with Lawson, team mate Arvid Lindblad and Red Bull junior driver Nikola Tsolov vying for two places.
The next round is in Las Vegas in a fortnight with the final two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
