Scuderia AlphaTauri got into trouble after Daniel Ricciardo injured himself during the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. However, they had a brilliant substitute, Liam Lawson, who joined the Italian team and performed at his absolute best. Therefore, as per RBR Daily on X, formerly Twitter, a report by Motorsport Italia stated that Red Bull would keep the young driver for at least two more races.
Ricciardo injured his wrist after the Australian crashed his AlphaTauri at the barrier at Zandvoort. Following his injury, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner brought Lawson into the team, and the young New Zealander has been pretty impressive ever since.
Seeing how Lawson managed to cope with the extreme pressure and lack of experience, the Austrian team now wants to provide him with more racing opportunities. On the other hand, the team is focusing on bringing back Ricciardo in the upcoming United States Grand Prix at Austin.
Why does Red Bull prefer Ricciardo’s return to America?
Ricciardo is a very popular figure in Formula 1’s American scene. The Honey Badger is probably the third most popular figure after seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and local boy Logan Sargeant. Therefore, Red Bull would do everything to get him back by the Austin race.
According to the report by Rob Chinchero of Motorsport Italia, Lawson will ‘most likely’ race at the Qatar Grand Prix after the recent Singapore GP. It also reported that the Honey Badger’s return seems increasingly oriented towards the US Grand Prix at Austin.
Given how brilliantly Lawson has been performing, Red Bull may think not to play with his sync. On the other hand, Ricciardo is yet to make his full recovery to race. Therefore, experts would call it a wise decision to allow the young driver to tally his chances while the chance lasts.
How is Lawson performing with AlphaTauri?
Liam Lawson has been massively impressive with his short stint at AlphaTauri. The New Zealander raced on three occasions and picked up two points for the team already.
Compared to his much-experienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who has three points in all races so far, Lawson impressed the top brass. All in all, the Red wants to give the 21-year-old maximum exposure before Daniel Ricciardo is completely ready to race.
Admittedly, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have been retained to race for the Faenza-based team in 2024. Given how big a character Ricciardo is for Red Bull, the team needs to have the Honey Badger at their sister team.
