Liam Lawson may have crossed the finish line in 13th, but the Kiwi was forced to settle for last on track after two separate penalties at Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

After starting 17th, the Kiwi looked to have managed his tyres adequately to be less than three seconds away from a points finish.

However, two separate incidents with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg saw Lawson slapped with 15 seconds worth of time penalties, and ultimately ruined the Racing Bulls driver’s chances of salvaging anything from the race.

While the Kiwi did finish in the same position he started in, Lawson did arguably produce his best on-track performance of the year so far, notably managing a 25-lap stint on soft tyres to complete the Grand Prix.

But looking to impress his Red Bull bosses after his mid-season demotion, the Kiwi will need to bounce back when the season continues in Jeddah next weekend.

“We had really good speed, we just couldn’t really use it,” said Lawson post-race.

“To be honest, the only way I could overtake was lunging quite late.

“I wasn’t intentionally touching with others, but it is what it is. Obviously, it’s just a shame.

“We don’t have a result to show it, but the car was very fast in quali. The car was fast in the race.

“But there’s only so much you can do from the back.”

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri converted his pole position into his second win of the year, meaning every race this season so far has been won by the driver who qualified first. The victory, though, continues Piastri’s incredible record of winning every race in which he’s claimed pole.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished second, but could also be penalised after his drag reduction system (DRS) was opened outside of an approved window. Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris completed the podium in third, as McLaren’s stranglehold on both the drivers and constructors championships showed no signs of abating.

Norris still leads the drivers championship with 77 points from four races, while Piastri sits three points back in second. McLaren hold a 58-point lead at the top of the constructors, with Mercedes in second.

World champion Max Verstappen crossed the line in sixth, while Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda scored his first points since his switch with Lawson by finishing ninth.

And while Lawson did beat teammate Isack Hadjar on track, the Frenchman finished 14th after the Kiwi’s penalties.

Liam Lawson after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Photo / Getty Images

As part of the standard opening lap fracas, Hadjar lost places after starting 12th, and dropped to 16th, next to Lawson as the two Racing Bulls cars found themselves alongside one another.

But while it was hoped Lawson starting on medium tyres, compared to Hadjar’s softs, would allow the Kiwi to run longer, the abrasive nature of the Bahrain International Circuit track negated any advantage that might have fallen his way.

It wasn’t until Hadjar was the first driver to pit, on lap seven, that Lawson was able to move up to 16th, and left him over 1.5s behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.

Lawson was able to climb as high as 11th, as drivers who started on softs pitted for mediums, and stayed on Alonso to cut the gap closer and closer to less than one second, and put himself in position to use his DRS.

When Tsunoda pitted on lap 12, Lawson climbed as high as ninth and a share of the points, albeit with Norris behind him - even with a five-second time penalty for a false start.

At the start of lap 14, Norris’ advantage told, as he got around Lawson at turn one, as the Kiwi made his first stop and fitted hard tyres one lap later, and emerged down in 19th, four seconds back from the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

That stop, though, allowed Lawson to temporarily undercut Alonso, who emerged on mediums after his first trip to the pits, and guaranteed he’d have to return to ensure he’d finish the race having used more than one tyre compound.

On faster tyres, Alonso was able to win that place back, before another round of pit stops had Lawson up to 16th once he got around Stroll.

A clash between Tsunoda and Williams’ Carlos Sainz triggered a full safety car on lap 33, and yielded yet another round of stops, including Lawson, who dropped to 18th, but was able to fit a fresh set of softs.

When the safety car came in at the start of lap 36, Lawson reeled in Alonso and Hadjar to climb to 16th, but the Kiwi’s race was ultimately ruined by the first penalty, as he collided with Hulkenberg after the end of the safety car.

Lawson was able to overtake the Sauber two laps later, and climbed to 14th on track with another overtake on Sainz - who was penalised for an incident with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, and then forced to retire with damage.

With six laps to go, Lawson cleared Jack Doohan’s Alpine, before the second penalty, worth 10 seconds again for colliding with Hulkenberg, was handed out.

The final race of Formula One’s triple-header takes place next weekend, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.