Return postponed
Liam Lawson will contest one more Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, while Daniel Ricciardo will have to wait for the Austin weekend, scheduled for 20 to 22 October, to return to the wheel of the AT04 after his injury at the end of August in Zandvoort during the PL2 session . This is the news that once again turns the spotlight on the Red Bull family – and in particular on the junior team from Faenza – on the eve of the second trip in history for Formula 1 to Qatar. After the Suzuka weekend, it seemed to many that the time was ripe for the return of the Australian driver, called up during the current season to replace Nyck De Vries and forced to miss the Zandvoort, Monza, Singapore and Suzuka events due to a fractured metacarpal of the left hand. However, the recovery of #3 is not yet complete.
The Sprint problem
Ricciardo’s return to the track is also complicated by the fact that the Losail weekend includes the presence of the Sprint race. In fact, AlphaTauri’s plan was to put the former Renault and McLaren driver in the FP1 in the car and evaluate his condition there, to understand whether to let him continue the weekend or whether to give Lawson more space.
However, the fact that at the end of PL1 you already have to face qualifying to form the grid on Sunday and that Saturday is instead entirely dedicated to qualifying and the Sprint race makes this option impractical.
Waiting for Austin
In fact, in the event that Ricciardo was not ready, Lawson would be forced to ‘debut’ on the Qatari track directly in Q1. Therefore, as also reported by the American TV channel ESPN, it was preferred to opt for a more prudent approach. Ricciardo will be given the opportunity to fully recover from the Dutch accident, while Lawson – ‘on foot’ for 2024 (he will remain in the team, but only as third driver) – will have another chance to show himself. This year, in the few races in which he has had the opportunity to race, the New Zealander has already made headlines. His best result at the moment remains ninth place in Singapore, which also earned him his first world championship points.
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