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“He Hasn’t Been Able to Convince Me”: AlphaTauri Choosing Daniel Ricciardo Over Talented Liam Lawson Baffles Former F1 Driver

Somin Bhattacharjee
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“He Hasn’t Been Able to Convince Me”: AlphaTauri Choosing Daniel Ricciardo Over Talented Liam Lawson Baffles Former F1 Driver

Daniel Ricciardo is currently out injured because of a broken wrist he suffered at the Dutch GP weekend. Liam Lawson, who was called in to replace Ricciardo has performed incredibly well, even scoring points in the AlphaTauri. However, for next season, the team decided to have Ricciardo in the team instead of a young talented Lawson. This is a decision that baffles former F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit Johnny Herbert, as per Motorsport Magazine.

Ricciardo did not have a seat in F1 following his McLaren sacking at the end of 2022. He returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver and patiently waited until the management chose him to replace an underperforming Nyck de Vries at their sister team, AlphaTauri. Ricciardo performed decently in the first two races, but then, he suffered a broken wrist after crashing during FP2 in Zandvoort.

Liam Lawson, who has been a part of Red Bull’s academy for years, came in to replace the Perth-born driver. Despite getting such short notice to fill in, Lawson performed really well and even followed his good performances up with a points finish in Singapore.

Lawson was firmly in the mix to get a shot at proving himself in F1 next year too, but AlphaTauri decided to have the pairing of Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda instead.

AlphaTauri is supposed to be a talent team

AlphaTauri does not carry the tag of being Red Bull’s junior team, but as their sister outfit, they have provided a plethora of opportunities to some of the brightest drivers from their academy. The likes of Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo for that matter, started out their careers at AlphaTauri (formerly known as Toro Rosso).

Now, however, choosing to have a 34-year-old Ricciardo instead of a 21-year-old Lawson who has been impressive, seems like a bizarre decision to Herbert. In his Motorsport Magazine interview as quoted by GP Blog, Herbert even admitted that he is not impressed by Ricciardo’s return.

He hasn’t been able to convince me since his comeback,” he said. “There was no ‘wow factor’. I think Lawson and Tsunoda should have been AlphaTauri’s rider couple. After all, AlphaTauri is a team designed to produce talents.

For Lawson, however, not all hope is lost. He is a part of Red Bull’s future, as per reports which emerged after Ricciardo’s extension.

Liam Lawson to be a long term replacement for Daniel Ricciardo?

Ricciardo made it no secret that he wants to return to Red Bull one day. He wanted to impress at AlphaTauri this year in order to return to Milton Keynes in 2024. However, that does not look possible because of his injury at the moment. As a result, Red Bull decided to give him a full season to prove himself, before making a decision about his future in 2025.

Lawson, meanwhile, will likely stay at Red Bull as a reserve and development driver. But, all things point towards the New Zealander getting a shot at AlphaTauri or Red Bull in 2025. This is particularly because of Sergio Perez failing to live up to expectations with the Austrian squad.

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Basketball Editor Somin Bhattacharjee first discovered the game during the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Not long after, he turned to the NBA and found himself drawn to the Golden State Warriors — right at the start of Stephen Curry’s rise. Over time, the admiration turned into full-blown support for the team, one that continues even as the Curry era approaches its twilight. A true hoophead, Somin also follows EuroLeague basketball closely and enjoys exploring the game beyond the NBA. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. Since 2021, he has penned over 3,000 articles for TheSportsRush, covering everything from breaking news to sharp opinion pieces and detailed exclusives. He thrives on writing about in-game moments and the reactions that make basketball a uniquely emotional sport. Beyond basketball, Somin plays different sports including soccer and remains a passionate fan of Spanish football giants Real Madrid

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