Liam Lawson's last chance to impress his Formula 1 bosses came undone in the pit-box in Abu Dhabi.
Lawson was running eight in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday (Monday NZ Time) when an error by his pit crew cost him time, eventually recording a DNF with a final-lap engine fail.
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The 22-year-old has been attempting to prove he can foot it with the best in Formula 1 during his six-race stint since replacing Daniel Ricciardo at Team RB.
With Red Bull expected to move on from Sergio Perez, Lawson has been competing with RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Williams' Franco Colapinto for a seat alongside F1 champion Max Verstappen.
After starting 12th, Lawson had moved up as high as seventh - with Tsunoda heading in the other direction and Perez out after a first-lap crash - before pitting on lap 24. His crew did not attach his front left tyre correctly, requiring a second pit-stop and incurring a 10-second penalty.
Lawson served the penalty on lap 31, emerging 17th, more than 45 seconds behind Valtteri Bottas. He picked up one spot when Bottas and Haas' Kevin Magnussen came together, and eventually got by Magnussen for 15th on lap 57.
However, with the finish approaching, his engine gave out and he was forced to retire for the first time in his F1 career.
"A tough way to end the season, which is a shame because we started really well," said Lawson, who collected four points in 2024 from ninth-placed finishes athe US Grand Prix and Mexican Grand Prix.
"It was probably one of the best races I've driven, even though we were a couple of laps down, the pace was actually really strong, we were fast.
"But we had an issue in the pits, which put us out of the race, which sucks because we could have potentially had a chance to score some points today. After that I just tried to treat it like a normal race, so I could show what I could do.
"I've loved my six races so far in the car. Obviously, I'm hoping to have a future in Formula 1. I gave it everything and I'm looking forward to hopefully being back next year."
Lawson now has to wait for Red Bull to announce its driver lineup for 2025, expected to come next week.