AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer has confirmed Daniel Ricciardo is set to return to the team for the United States Grand Prix despite the heroics of Liam Lawson in recent F1 weekends.
Following a simulator session earlier this week, it was determined Ricciardo was not quite ready to return to Formula 1 for this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix after breaking a bone in his left hand during a crash in practice for the Dutch GP.
It led to Australian Ricciardo calling New Zealander Lawson personally over FaceTime to deliver the news he would still be in the car at the Lusail International Circuit, with the 21-year-old now set for a fifth successive outing with AlphaTauri before bowing out for Ricciardo in Austin.
With another two weeks of healing and preparation ahead of that race, it is no surprise Ricciardo will make his highly anticipated second comeback of the season after being propelled into AlphaTauri following the team’s decision to sack Nyck de Vries.
“That’s definitely the plan,” said Bayer, when asked if Ricciardo was expected back for the USGP.
“He was in the simulator on Monday and he said he could go almost until the end, but it was not 100 per cent, so we didn’t want to rush things.
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“Given we have this amazing luxury of having a top third driver in Liam who can jump into the seat, together we decided to give him (Ricciardo) a bit more time and he should be in the car in Austin.”
Bayer, though, has been mightily impressed with what Lawson has achieved to date, especially after being pitched into the F1 fray in incredibly tricky conditions across the remainder of the weekend in Zandvoort.
Lawson then delivered a stunning performance in Singapore, securing the team its best result of the season with ninth, prompting Bayer to hand him a deserved nickname.
On either side of the race in Singapore, Lawson has just missed out on further points by finishing 11th in Italy and Japan.
Reflecting on Lawson’s drives so far, Bayer added: “I think everybody will agree that his baptism in Zandvoort was incredibly challenging, with the rain, and with the track being a difficult one, but he mastered it and he has kept performing.
“He’s done an excellent job working with the engineers, he’s listening, and then he’s improving lap by lap. He’s a very quick learner.
“He’s fighting, and I really have to say, I admire what he did in Singapore. His car seemed to be double as wide as the others.
“I called him ‘Liam the Lion’ afterward because I really thought it was an impressive performance, and he keeps delivering. I’m very happy to have him on board as part of the family.”
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