The driver market for the 2024 Formula One season is heating up, and one of the teams that faces a tough challenge ahead is AlphaTauri. The Italian outfit has three talented drivers in contention for two seats: Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda. And it is not only a challenge for the team, as even Tsunoda surprisingly shrugged when asked who he wants as his teammate next season.
In an interview with Sky Sports F1’s David Croft, Tsunoda was asked to choose between Ricciardo and Lawson as potential partners for 2024. The Japanese rookie tried a diplomatic way to deal with it and praised both drivers’ qualities but could make a clear choice.
Yuki Tsunoda said Thursday that AlphaTauri might need “three seats” in Formula One next season as he vies with Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson for the team’s two places.#Tsunoda #AlphaTauri #Formula1 #JapanGP #F1 https://t.co/Hds4GMkUp3
— News18 Sports (@News18Sports) September 21, 2023
Tsunoda was reluctant to axe either of them, believing the team could benefit from any selection of the two for 2024. However, he realized that there was only one way to avoid making a decision: by sacrificing himself.
Yuki Tsunoda offers to sacrifice his seat for Ricciardo and Lawson
Tsunoda agrees that Daniel Ricciardo is the more experienced driver to get good results. However, he is also impressed with Liam Lawson’s performance. Tsunoda jokingly suggested that the AlphaTauri should have three seats by 2024 in order to accommodate all three drivers.
“Daniel is probably easier, he has more experience, so maybe he can extract those results, but also Liam… I don’t know, I’m scared to say!”
“I think Liam also had the best score, he did ninth, I’ve never done ninth, so I’ll stop here. Liam and Daniel… Three seats.”
“I wouldn’t be happy to go back to being reserve. Obviously, I know how hard it is to get into Formula 1 and I understand that that can be really difficult sometimes,”
How secure is Tsunoda’s future?
Tsunoda’s selfless remark raised doubts about how secure his future is in Formula One. The 22-year-old has had a mixed season so far, achieving a best finish of tenth three times. However, he also made a lot of mistakes and had bad luck, resulting in a DNS and a DNF in the last two races.
According to reports, Tsunoda is likely to remain with the team until 2024. The Japanese driver has the support of Red Bull and Honda and has shown glimpses of talent and speed throughout the season. However, Tsunoda’s place could be taken by Lawson, who is currently 3rd in the Formula 2 standings and has impressed with his pace and consistency.
Liam Lawson is 19th in the World Drivers’ Championship with 22 drivers.
His 9th place in Singapore is already AlphaTauri’s best result of the season.
He’s one point away from Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda in the standings.#F1 #SingaporeGP
— Kunal Shah (@kunalashah) September 17, 2023
The final decision on the AlphaTauri line-up for 2024 will be made by Red Bull boss Helmut Marko. Marko is known for his harsh approach to driver management. The Red Bull advisor has not revealed his preference. However, he has praised Ricciardo’s performance and experience and also said that Lawson is ready for Formula One.
