-
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
SUZUKA, Japan — AlphaTauri has confirmed Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will remain at the team next year, while rookie Liam Lawson will continue as a Red Bull and AlphaTauri reserve driver.
The news, which was first reported by earlier ESPN this week, takes the pressure off Ricciardo, who is still recovering from breaking a bone in his hand at the Dutch Grand Prix earlier this year.
Lawson is currently substituting for Ricciardo at AlphaTauri alongside Tsunoda and has impressed in his first three race after scoring points last weekend in Singapore.
Red Bull, which owns AlphaTauri, had been weighing up the three options but are understood to have settled on a decision earlier this week.
It means the career of Ricciardo, an eight-time winner in F1, will be extended for at least one more year.
He replaced Nyck de Vries at the Hungarian Grand Prix this season after the Dutch driver failed to impress Red Bull in the opening ten races of the year.
Ricciardo sees AlphaTauri as his best path back to Red Bull in 2025, when the contract of Sergio Perez, who currently races alongside world champion Max Verstappen, will have ended.
AlphaTauri is set to race under a new name and with a closer partnership to Red Bull in 2024, including more sharing of like-for-like parts where it is allowed under the regulations.
Ricciardo was targeting a return to racing at the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks’ time, but it is not yet clear if he will be fit in time.
Before his opportunity at AlphaTauri, Lawson had been reserve driver for Red Bull, a role which would be open for him in 2024.
Speaking on Thursday at the media day in Suzuka, Lawson said: “I wouldn’t be happy to go back to being reserve but obviously I know how hard it is to get to Formula One.
“And I understand that can be really, really difficult sometimes. So what will happen will happen, but these things I haven’t really thought about too much.
“I’ve just tried to make the most of this [opportunity].”
Source: www.espn.com