'Red Bull has made choice: these are the AlphaTauri drivers in '24'
F1 News
With the confirmation of Guanyu Zhou for a third year at Sauber (currently called Alfa Romeo), the number of available seats for 2024 has been further reduced. Only at Williams is there still the question of who will be Alex Albon's colleague next year, and two cockpits remain vacant at AlphaTauri as well. But the latter team is said to have now tied the knot on who will be behind the wheel of the AlphaTauri's in '24, which, incidentally, is set to undergo a name change.
This season, Red Bull Racing's sister team already had four different drivers in Formula 1. Nyck de Vries started the season alongside Yuki Tsunoda but was sidelined before the summer break in favour of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian then suffered a hand injury, so reserve Liam Lawson was allowed to drive three Grands Prix.
The New Zealander is increasingly impressing, picking up his first (two) points in Singapore. Moreover, he was faster than the more seasoned Tsunoda all weekend. Lawson's form fuelled rumours that Red Bull - ultimately the party that decides who comes out for AlphaTauri - would give the New Zealander a permanent place in F1 next season.
Rumours of Lawson staying on
Lawson would then reportedly take the place of Yuki Tsunoda. However, Auto, Motor und Sport reported on Monday that it expects AlphaTauri to announce next weekend in Japan that Tsunoda will be awarded a fourth season at the racing stable. According to the German magazine, confirmation that Ricciardo will stay on will also follow within some time, leaving no place for Lawson.
Timo Glock, former F1 driver and current analyst, praised Lawson in his column today, in particular. The German sees the New Zealander as a serious candidate to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing in a year and a half's time. In that case, however, Lawson must have driven in the AlphaTauri next season, something that does not appear to be happening.