Liam Lawson will continue to race for AlphaTauri until Australian Daniel Ricciardo is fit to return, the Red Bull-owned F1 team announced.
New Zealander Liam Lawson will continue to race for AlphaTauri until Australian Daniel Ricciardo is fit to return, the Red Bull-owned Formula One team said on Monday.
Ricciardo had surgery in Spain on Sunday after breaking his left hand in a crash in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday, with reserve driver Lawson drafted in for his Formula One race debut.
Lawson, 21, finished 13th in the Dutch Grand Prix, with Tsunoda 16th.
The next race, round 14, is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday. Singapore follows on September 17 and Japan on September 24.
Liam Lawson confirmed to drive alongside Yuki until Daniel is fit pic.twitter.com/GQ6TgEw75H
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) August 28, 2023
“We are delighted that Daniel’s surgery went well and that he is now on the road to recovery,” AlphaTauri said in a statement.
“We hope to see him at the track again very soon, but until he is fully fit, we can confirm that Liam, who did a good job in difficult circumstances in Zandvoort, will continue to drive alongside Yuki (Tsunoda), starting from our home race this weekend in Monza.”
Ricciardo posted a picture on Instagram of himself lying in a hospital bed with his left arm bandaged and in a sling.
“Hey everyone. Had surgery this morning, got my first bit of metal work so that’s pretty cool,” he said. “Big thanks to everyone who reached out and kept my spirits up. This ain’t a setback, just all part of the comeback.”
He flew to Barcelona on Saturday to see a specialist after suffering a break to a metacarpal on his left hand in a crash during Friday practice at Zandvoort.
The 34-year-old was three races into his comeback with Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri after leaving McLaren at the end of last year intending to take time out.
Barcelona-based MotoGP traumatology specialist Javier Mir operated on Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll when the Canadian broke his wrists before the start of the season.
Stroll was able to race in Bahrain two weeks later.
Reuters
