Liam Lawson F1: AlphaTauri names drivers for 2024, young Kiwi listed as reserve

The news Liam Lawson fans were expecting has come.

Red Bull Racing’s junior team - AlphaTauri - have announced their 2024 driver lineup will remain unchanged from this season. Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo and Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda will be their primary drivers and Kiwi Liam Lawson will resume his duties as reserve driver.

Speculation had mounted over the past weeks as to how AlphaTauri’s lineup would look in 2024 after Lawson’s Grand Prix outings as injury replacement for Ricciardo - who is recovering from a wrist injury sustained in a practice crash.

The 21-year-old has impressed since taking over from Ricciardo for AlphaTauri, picking up championship points in just his third race at the Singapore Grand Prix.

In a release, AlphaTauri said “He [Lawson] has already impressed in Formula 1 by scoring points after only two races completed with Scuderia AlphaTauri as a last-minute reserve for the injured Daniel Ricciardo and will provide valuable contribution to both teams in reserve for the 2024 season.

Franz Tost, Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal, said “As for Liam, who has impressed everyone in his races so far, he will definitely help the team in his development role as a third driver, and I’m sure he will have a future in Formula One soon.”

It was these performances that had speculation rising about Lawson replacing either Ricciardo or Tsunoda for AlphaTauri but the announcement has confirmed the reporting around the Red Bull development team’s next move.

What happens now for the young Kiwi is unclear: he is still competing for the Japanese Super Formula title but as for 2024, the path is less certain.

Lawson’s options within Formula 1 seem limited, with Williams being a potential option.

No teams aside from Williams, who have invested significantly in rookie Logan Sargeant but whose patience may be wearing thin after a poor season, stand out as realistic destinations for the young Kiwi.

A loan move for Lawson could get him a full-time seat at Williams, but the new Williams ownership appear focused on building for the future and would be unlikely to sign Lawson on a one-season deal, only for him to return to AlphaTauri and leave them needing to find a driver again. He’d therefore have to sign on for three or four years and prominent motorsport expert Bob McMurray has doubts Red Bull would want to let a talent like Lawson go for that long.

McMurray emphasised that Lawson’s progress has caught the attention of every F1 team. Just a month ago he was an aspiring F1 driver, and now he has showcased his skills on the Grand Prix stage.

McMurray said that will change not only Lawson’s perspective but the perspective of teams about him.

“They don’t have to wonder about a junior coming in that’s going to throw the car in the wall every five minutes. They know he can do the job.”

McMurray said choosing to stick with Ricciardo and Tsunoda over Lawson would be sending a message to young drivers - and go against the ethos of what the team was set up to do in bringing up young talent.

“Can you imagine young drivers now thinking ‘well, hang on a minute?’

“Young drivers coming up in the Red Bull programme, they’re going to think ‘Okay we get all the way to the top and they say, sorry, no room for you.’ That does not look good.”