Liam Lawson admits he is ‘disappointed’ as AlphaTauri overlooked him to give Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Riccardo a contract extension 

Liam Lawson utperformed his teammate Yuki Tsunoda often during his time as Daniel Ricciardo's replacement.

Liam Lawson admits he is ‘disappointed’ as AlphaTauri overlooked him to give Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Riccardo a contract extension 

Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo (Via IMAGO)

Daniel Riccardo crashed and broke a metacarpal in his left hand in the second practice session of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. New Zealande-born Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson was given his F1 debut as the Australin’s replacement. He has raced in four events with Yuki Tsunoda and will make his final start of the season this Sunday at Qatar GP.

After making a debut in Free Practice 3 at the Dutch GP, Lawson was quick to adapt to the car and racing style of the premier division. He outperformed his Japanese counterpart, Yuki Tsunoda, in his debut race and scored his maiden point in his third start, the Singaporean GP, where he finished ninth. Ricciardo hasn’t yet scored points for the team.

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With all the teams announcing their final racers for the season of 2024, Lawson sadly opted out of Red Bull’s sister team, Alphatauri, as they decided to extend their current drivers’ contracts. He proved himself worthy of the seat at Alphatauri with his debut performance, yet he could not secure a seat on the team. This left him disappointed and clueless.

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“Obviously, my goal is to be in F1 full-time, so as much as it’s disappointing, it’s still my goal, and it’s now about trying to make sure that I can make that happen in the future,” said Lawson about his current situation as reported by racefans.net. Ironically, Lawson’s highlight of outqualifying the current reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, at the Singapore GP wasn’t enough for a seat in the team.

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Can Liam Lawson secure a seat at Williams for the next season?

Lawson, before his final opportunity at the Qatar GP after supposedly being replaced back by Riccardo, says “Right now, I’ve still got this opportunity to keep trying to show something, and I’ll try to make the most of it. For now, as long as this lasts, I’ll focus on it”.

Liam Lawson (Via IMAGO)
Liam Lawson (Via IMAGO)

Lawson says that the final round of the Super Formula at Suzuka on the weekend of the Mexican GP will be his primary goal after exiting Formula 1. “It’ll be very different adjusting back to the car.”

Williams still has no substitute for the newbie Logan Sargeant, who has yet to register a single point this season. Although he is most likely here to stay, Lawson supporters are still unsure as to whether or not he will be able to join Williams in Formula 1. Lawson has shown himself all that is needed now is for a team to recognize his talent and assist him in obtaining the seat in Formula 1 racing that he so well deserves.

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