Yuki Tsunoda might get a DEMOTION as Daniel Ricciardo-Liam Lawson pair seem fixed for AlphaTauri in 2024
Rumor has it that AlphaTauri are pondering upon taking up Liam Lawson in a permanent driver role for next season.
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In the last few years, Red Bull Racing have tried innumerous permutations and combinations to fix their line-up as well as sister team AlphaTauri’s line-up. Their Chief Advisor Helmut Marko has nurtured several talents like Alex Albon and Nyck deVries. And they proceeded to take up regular racing roles at Red Bull and AlphaTauri respectively. Now, a new hiring situation is rumored to be coming up at the Austrian outfit–and it involves some big names like Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.
At the beginning of the 2023 season, Yuki Tsunoda was paired with F1 newcomer Nyck deVries. The Dutch racer, already a Formula E and Formula 2 Champion, had promised sky-high results under the Faenza-based team. But ultimately, his underperformance led to Helmut Marko removing deVries from the position, and bringing in Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo to partner Yuki. But as the Honey Badger sustained a wrist injury at the Monza GP, Liam Lawson stepped up as Daniel’s substitute.
Now, AlphaTauri’s new CEO Peter Bayer indicated that their team will have a blend of youth with experience. This might mean that they will take up Liam Lawson in a new role and keep Daniel Ricciardo too. And F1 columnist for RACER, Chris Medland, predicted that AlphaTauri will leave Yuki Tsunoda to Red Bull for a reserve driver role.
Related: Sergio Perez reveals the root cause of his drop in performance amidst sabotage conspiracies
Liam Lawson got an incredible opportunity due to Daniel Ricciardo’s wrist injury
New Zealander Liam Lawson replaced Jüri Vips as the Red Bull reserve driver following the former’s racial slur on Twitch. Then, Lawson got another opportunity to step up to the action when Daniel Ricciardo, the newly installed driver at AlphaTauri, suffered an injury and had to sit out for the Italian GP. At the Singapore GP, the Aussie will be present but he is still in no shape to drive, so Lawson will partner Yuki once again.
Even though Daniel Ricciardo himself posted on Instagram about his improving condition, he will probably not be seen in the cockpit of an F1 car till the Qatar GP. This has led to Lawson getting a trial at driving for AlphaTauri and getting a taste of the life of a Formula One driver. And the 21-year-old youngster said that now that he knows how to drive in the elite class, he does not want to settle for anything less than a full-time F1 driving seat.
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Riddhi Mondal
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