F1 – Liam Lawson, a rookie who beats his team-mate

Over the past few months, the Faenza team has been turned upside down by the comings and goings of several drivers. Ahead of the infamous summer break, AlphaTauri parted ways with Nyck De Vries who made his F1 debut this season. The Red Bull leaders were not patient and preferred to thank the Dutchman. They weren’t convinced by his unsuccessful performances. Arrived in Hungary, the Honey Badger made its comeback in the paddock. Daniel Ricciardo knew how to be opportunistic. He was very comfortable aboard the RB19 during the Pirelli tests at Silverstone. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko didn’t hesitate to put him back behind the wheel. But during this race weekend at Zandvoort, the Australian lost control of his AT04. He broke his left wrist and had surgery yesterday morning in Barcelona. He will not be present during the Italian Grand Prix this Sunday. We wish him a very good recovery. So it was Liam Lawson who came into play last weekend.

Wishing you a speedy recovery @danielricciardo #F1 @AlphaTauriF1 pic.twitter.com/grAw1yHFkc

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2023

Positive beginnings

Called to the rescue, Liam Lawson came to replace Daniel Ricciardo after his accident during the second free practice session. No time to acclimatize to the car for the New Zealander. The driver of the Red Bull sector has already carried out tests at the wheel of the AlphaTauri, but not as a holder. During the qualifying session, he placed himself in last position after very changeable weather conditions. He has set himself the goal of seeing the arrival of this Grand Prix. He managed to do better than his expectations. He managed to finish 13th ahead of his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda and even allowed himself the luxury of overtaking a Charles Leclerc in great difficulty during the race. Lawson will also be present for the race meeting in Monza, Ricciardo will not be ready yet. The AlphaTauri bucket seats are not yet confirmed for 2024. A great way to try to impress Helmut Marko and earn his place for next season.

“The goal was to do the 72 laps today. When I first arrived on the grid and it started to rain, it wasn’t the best feeling. After that we had no choice but to pit but unfortunately we got a penalty and lost a lot of time. I think once I had clean air for the second half of the race and we ran on intermediate tires at the end, my pace wasn’t that bad. There is work to be done, but I’m just happy to have got through the race, to experience different conditions and scenarios, to be able to move forward.