Red Bull’s AlphaTauri team have twice passed up the opportunity to give Liam Lawson a race seat in its team, opting first for Dutchman Nyck De Vries, then for returning Aussie veteran Daniel Ricciardo. While the official line was that Red Bull wanted Lawson to develop further by competing in the Super Formula series in Japan for 2023, if they were completely convinced he was a superstar talent like Max Verstappen he’d be in the car fulltime already.
Now is the chance for Lawson to put those questions beyond doubt. Ricciardo’s recovery from his broken hand in the Netherlands will see him miss the Italian Grand Prix, and perhaps Singapore too. Lawson’s time as a super sub at AlphaTauri is effectively audition for his Formula 1 future. He needs to make the most of it.
Be fast, don’t crash, finishes races
It sounds obvious, but Lawson needs to convince the AlphaTauri team’s owners Red Bull that he can be fast and reliable enough to warrant a seat at motorsport’s mega-bucks top table.
Lawson’s debut at the Dutch Grand Prix – in a car he’d never driven, on tyres he was unfamiliar with, and in ultra-tricky changeable weather conditions – was branded “accomplished” by top F1 journalist Edd Straw. A repeat performance, along with steady improvement and no crashes, will enhance his reputation further.
Do well at Monza
This weekend, the Italian Grand Prix – one of the most prestigious events on the Formula 1 calendar – is held in the parkland circuit of Monza. Lawson needs to build on his solid debut in the Netherlands by excelling at Monza, and ideally score points. That’s not easy: his AlphaTauri team are last in the F1 Constructor’s Championship, with only three 10th places finishes this year.
But Monza is a place where upsets are possible – Nyck de Vries scored points on debut there last year, leading to his hiring by AlphaTauri (he was fired after this year’s British Grand Prix, opening up a seat for Ricciardo, and now Lawson).
Also in his favour: both of AlphaTauri’s two Grand Prix wins took place at Monza (Pierre Gasly in 2020, and Sebastian Vettel in 2008, when the team was known as Toro Rosso).
Match teammate Yuki Tsunoda
All Formula 1 one drivers are measured first and foremost against the guy sitting opposite them in the F1 garage, driving exactly the same car. For Lawson, this man is Yuki Tsunoda, a Japanese driver now in his third season of Formula 1.
Tsunoda’s had a wild start to his career punctuated by frequent crashes and explosive fits of rage broadcast over the team radio. But in 2023, he’s matured to become far more reliable, and quick. Lawson needs get close to Tsunoda in qualifying pace, and ideally beat him in the races, like he did on his Grand Prix debut in the Netherlands, where the Kiwi finished 13th and Tsunoda 15th.
Do better than Daniel Ricciardo
Netflix’s hit Drive to Survive made loveable Aussie larrikin Daniel Ricciardo the world’s favourite Formula 1 driver. So it’s easy to forget just how piss-poor his form was in 2022. It was so bad in fact, the Kiwi-founded McLaren team paid him not to drive for them in 2023.
Ricciardo was thrown a lifeline by Red Bull, who gifted him the seat at the AlphaTauri team of fired Dutchman Nyck de Vries from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. In the race to rebuild his reputation, Ricciardo was unconvincing in his two 2023 races before breaking his hand.
If Lawson can match, or better, the pace of the illustrious Aussie (he’s topped the F1 podium eight times), despite having far less experience, Red Bull might be forced to think twice about Ricciardo’s continued value at this stage of his career.
Hope Red Bull fire Sergio Perez
Comparatively speaking, Sergio Perez is having a shocker of a season in the main Red Bull team, despite them winning every race this year. He’s won two Grands Prix, but has been absolutely flogged by the team’s double champion Max Verstappen, who has won 11. This includes a depressing run for Perez of not making the top 10 in qualifying for five races in a row.
That’s set the Formula 1 paddock alight with speculation Red Bull’s ruthless motorsport boss Helmut Marko has brought Daniel Ricciardo back into AlphaTauri team with a view to promoting him back into the main Red Bull team for 2024, at Perez’s expense. Should this scenario play out, Liam Lawson will be race ready to fill Ricciardo’s seat at AlphaTauri fulltime next year.
