An Exciting F1 Seat Caused Liam Lawson to Forget to Let His Super Formula Team Know About His Debut

Liam Lawson was able to make his F1 dreams come true when Daniel Ricciardo injured himself at the Dutch GP last month. While it can be an enormous deal to see your ultimate dream come true, a surprise element always adds to the excitement. As for the 21-year-old New Zealander, his excitement level got so high that he forgot to inform his Super Formula team about his F1 debut with AlphaTauri.

During FP2 in Zandvoort, Ricciardo swerved to avoid collision with Lando Norris but ended up crashing into the wall. The shock, upon impact, from the steering wheel was so high that it fractured Ricciardo’s left hand. Helmut Marko has since revealed the Australian driver suffered seven fractures and is being taken care of by the same doctor who operated on Marc Marquez (Moto GP legend).

Thankfully for AlphaTauri, Liam Lawson was traveling with the team as their reserve driver. He has since driven in two races, both of which have been an impressive outing for the 21-year-old. He outperformed teammate Yuki Tsunoda in his debut and finished just outside the points in his second race in Monza.

Liam Lawson did not inform his team about his F1 debut

With Ricciardo injuring himself in FP2, AlphaTauri hoped it wouldn’t be anything major. Once they came to know of the extent of the injury, the team scrambled to name two drivers for the next day’s sessions. Lawson was traveling with the team as their reserve driver and had to quickly take up the role. When asked what his Super Formula team’s reaction was to the news, the New Zealand driver had an unexpected reply.

“Now that you mention it, I never told them!”

“It all happened very, very quickly, and I’ve spoken to them since, but it wasn’t something I actually told them.”

Lawson‘s impressive outings might become a problem for Ricciardo, who is hoping for a potential return to his former Red Bull seat. Not only has the 21-year-old fared better against his current teammate, but he is also outperforming the man he replaced. In his two races, Ricciardo finished 13th and 16th respectively. On the other hand, Lawson has secured a P13 and P11 so far. Should Lawson continue to perform this way, he could pose as a contender for a Red Bull seat should Perez vacate it.

Ricciardo back in the AlphaTauri garage

With Ricciardo‘s recovery well underway, the team recently announced he will present at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. However, the ‘Honey Badger’ won’t be suiting up to get into the car as Lawson and Tsunoda team up for their third race as teammates this season. The team’s top priority remains Ricciardo’s recovery and as such, the Australian will not be available for any media or PR activities throughout the Singapore GP Weekend.

 

not the usual race eng you would expect 🤓#AlphaTauri #F1 #RedBull #Formula1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/Xu5Pib5a2f

— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) September 15, 2023

So far, Red Bull’s sister team has featured as many as four drivers on the grid. Even then, the team remains dead last in the constructors championship with a mere three points to their name. De Vries, Ricciardo, and Lawson have all failed to finish in points. However, given the stellar performances of the latest entrant on the grid, AlphaTauri might be looking to pick up a few more points as the season heads towards its final few races.