Liam Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo for five races after Ricciardo suffered a wrist injury during the practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix. Lawson had an amazing stint with Alpha Tauri, outperforming his teammate Yuki Tsunoda and scoring a 9th-place finish in the Singapore Grand Prix. Lawson was driving full-time in the Super Formula championship in Japan while filling in for Ricciardo.

New Zealander motor racing driver returned to focus on Super Formula after Ricciardo returned to the grid after recovering from his injury in Austin. Lawson was second in the standings behind Ritomo Miyata coming into the final round of the championship at Suzuka.

Lawson boosted his chances of snatching the title from Miyata by qualifying first for the final race of the season, clinching the 3 bonus points for the pole in doing so. However, Kakunoshin Ota overtook Lawson for the lead and stayed there as Lawson was unable to take it back.

Liam Lawson was disappointed at the results after missing out on the title but acknowledged Miyata’s consistency over the season. Drivers who had previously competed in the championship like Nick Cassidy and Pierre Gasly had told Lawson about the competitiveness of the championship

It was obviously close at the end and it was disappointing to miss the title, but Miyata has been super-consistent. It’s something we’ve been missing. The speed has always been there, the results have been strong, but I think Miyata has been on the podium in almost every single race, which made it very difficult for us.

Liam Lawson as reported by motorsport.com

Lawson mentioned that a red flag leaving him 7th on the grid on Saturday, along with a huge 130R crash ending the race early were factors in the results.

Daniel Ricciardo confident of top-10 finish in Mexico in Alpha Tauri return

Daniel Ricciardo returned to the grid in Austin with a disappointing last-place finish, but he has made it clear that his resolve remains strong. Ricciardo proved his form with an outstanding qualifying, sitting 4th on the grid for the race.

He talked to reporters about his expectations for the Grand Prix, saying he has high optimism for points. 

I know what I felt in the car was good and I believe that is a top-10 car tomorrow.

Daniel Ricciardo as reported by essentiallysports.com

The 34-year-old Australian has had no points all year in his 4 races so far, but the qualifying on Saturday could possibly mark an upward swing for him. Ricciardo significantly qualified in front of Sergio Perez, whose Red Bull seat is a target for him in the future.

In case you missed it:

• Mexican GP organizers insist Red Bull ousting ‘superhero’ Sergio Perez won’t affect the race’s F1 future
• Max Verstappen slams ‘imperfect’ F1 qualifying rule at the Mexican GP 

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