Liam Lawson will enter his 4th Formula 1 race for AlphaTauri in Qatar and is expected to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo for the last time in 2023
Daniel Ricciardo surprised Liam Lawson via FaceTime to tell the AlphaTauri Formula 1 replacement driver that he will be allowed back behind the wheel of the AT04 at the Qatar Grand Prix in 2023. Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand in a training accident at Zandvoort, paving the way for 21-year-old New Zealander Lawson to make his Formula One debut in the Netherlands.
The Super Formula runner-up has impressed in his 4 outings. His quick acclimatisation was crowned with 2 points for 9th place at the Grand Prix. With Lawson joining Red Bull as a reserve driver next season – AlphaTauri have signed Yuki Tsunoda and Ricciardo for 2024 – he is expected to make his final appearance this weekend in Qatar, where a sprint race will be held.
However, he only found out about his stint on Monday after receiving a “random” video call that came in as eight-time Grand Prix winner Ricciardo was on the phone. Lawson explained, “I was sitting at lunch and a random number called me and it was a FaceTime. “
Lawson: All of a sudden I saw Ricciardo’s face!
“I was really confused because people don’t just randomly FaceTime, so I picked up and it was just Daniel’s face! He basically said he thought he’d treat me to another weekend. Of course it’s good to be back and it’s good to be in the car this weekend. I’m excited.”
With Ricciardo travelling immediately from Zandvoort to Spain to undergo surgery, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner initially suggested that a delayed return to Qatar would make the most sense given that the immediately preceding races in Singapore and Japan were quick-fire doubleheaders.
But AlphaTauri has left it up to Ricciardo to decide when he is fit enough to return, and that has now been pushed back to the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, later this month.
Lawson: Ricciardo comeback likely in Austin
Lawson added: “To be honest, after Japan it looked more likely that I would drive, so we continued to prepare as normal. I didn’t assume I’d be driving, but we prepared like we would in a normal situation.”
“It’s a bit different. I want to be here full time, but I’m just trying to make the best of the situation. I think [Austin] is definitely the destination [for Ricciardo]. I think that’s more likely. Obviously I can’t say for sure, but we have over a week to prepare for it. So I would say it’s probably Austin. “
