Liam Lawson suffered another setback early in his Red Bull career, qualifying last for the Chinese Sprint Grand Prix on Friday. Lawson was looking to bounce back from a nightmare debut in Australia.

The New Zealander was eliminated from Q1 in Melbourne, his home race. He subsequently crashed in slippery conditions during the race.

Inevitably, this has already led some to question Red Bull’s driver choice. They negotiated an early parting with Sergio Pérez and overlooked Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson’s de facto teammate at the junior team.

Lawson isn’t familiar with the circuit and only had an hour of practice due to the Sprint format. But Christian Horner expected much more.

His time of 1:32.729 was a couple of tenths off the mark he needed to reach SQ2. Max Verstappen was seven tenths faster than the sister car.

Martin Brundle laments Liam Lawson’s problems in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lawson took the checkered flag before the flurry of laps in SQ1 of the Chinese Grand Prix, which relegated him to last place. Over the radio, he attributed his problems to his tires.

“Dude, I’m really sorry, I really couldn’t get the tires to deflate,” he said.

The 23-year-old driver has only participated in 12 races, the equivalent of half a season. He may still be learning about the requirements of Pirelli tires.

During an interview with Sky Sports F1, commentator Martin Brundle expressed his sympathy for the youngster. He knows he’ll face renewed scrutiny, even though he still has time to salvage his weekend.

“Ow!” said Brundle. “Oh, for Liam Lawson!”

Mark Webber’s warning to Liam Lawson might be one of the most memorable lines of the season.

Before the first race, Karun Chandhok suggested that Lawson could “burn out” at Red Bull after what he considered a premature promotion. Several drivers have had serious difficulties sitting alongside Max Verstappen.

Chandok could be right about Lawson, based on early testing. However, the notoriously ruthless Red Bull has tried to be more patient with its new driver and may not begin to judge him until he visits circuits where he already has experience.

Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber claims Lawson is climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen mask as Verstappen’s teammate. This will be a memorable quote if he is overwhelmed this season.

In Shanghai, Tsunoda reached SQ3, although he had help from his teammate Isack Hadjar en route.