Lawson finishes down field at Japanese GP

Liam Lawson started well but fell off the pace after a pit stop PHOTO: FORMULA 1

New Zealand's Liam Lawson has finished 17th at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen winning for Red Bull.

For a large chunk of the race Lawson was in the top-10, but a late pit stop saw him plummet down the order and then he was overtaken by Carlos Sainz on a track which is notorious for a lack of space.

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He was instructed to take a pit stop with 19 of the 53 laps remaining and it didn't go to plan changing to soft tyres..

McLaren claimed the other two spots on the podium, with Lando Norris finishing second and Oscar Piastri third at the Suzuka International Circuit.

Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced Lawson on the Red Bull team finished in 12th place.

Lando Norris was second behind Verstappen with Oscar Piastri third and Charles Leclerc fourth.

After a couple of good practice rounds - 13th, fifth and 12th Lawson, 23 will be even more frustrated as he heads to Bahrain for next weekend's racing.