AlphaTauri has clarified that Liam Lawson missed out on a 2024 Formula 1 seat because it “can’t have two young drivers” to deliver the success Red Bull expects.
Lawson was overlooked when Nyck de Vries was axed inside 10 rounds, replaced by eight-time F1 winner Daniel Ricciardo, who returned to the Red Bull fray earlier this year.
But Lawson was handed his F1 debut after Ricciardo broke his left hand in a practice crash at Zandvoort. The Kiwi racer excelled in his opening three deputy appearances, scoring AlphaTauri’s best result of the year to this point with ninth place in Singapore.
However, AlphaTauri confirmed late last month that Ricciardo, 34, will remain with the team alongside Yuki Tsunoda, 23, for 2024, leaving Lawson back on the sidelines.
After Red Bull quashed speculation its second-string side could be sold earlier this year, AlphaTauri is set to enjoy an increased technical collaboration with the senior team.
As a result, the Faenza squad’s role in developing Red Bull’s young talents will be altered as it strives to match the parent company’s demand to be more competitive.
AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer explained: “We had lots of discussions about the future of the team and our shareholders said ‘We want you to continue and educate young drivers but we also want you to be successful’.
“Ultimately, you can’t have both. You can’t have two ‘young’ drivers in the team. We looked at what we needed to deliver that, and we finally came to the conclusion that, first of all, we only have two seats.
“Daniel offers a lot of expertise, especially when it comes down to the setup of the car, which is something that we have struggled with.
“Yuki has grown over the years, is achieving, and is now coming to the pinnacle of his performance curve, so we thought those two make the right team.
“On top of that, it’s also good to have somebody like Liam just behind them, to keep the fire warm under their seats and make sure we progress as a team.”
After recording the greatest points tally in the team’s history in 2021, AlphaTauri slumped to ninth in the Constructors’ standings once the regulations were overhauled last year.
Matters have gotten even worse for the Italian camp this year, however, as it currently sits rooted to the bottom of the standings with only five points in total from 17 rounds.
Although Bayer admits AlphaTauri will now always intend to field one experienced driver to reverse its fortunes, he contends it will still also act as a place for Red Bull’s rising crop.
Asked if AlphaTauri will no longer exist as an outfit for Red Bull’s young drivers to grow, Bayer replied: “It is, but not absolutely.
“I think the reality today is if you’re looking at the grid, it’s so competitive, it’s so tight, that every tenth of a second is being fought for by our colleagues here, and we came to the conclusion that in order to be contenders for the top midfield, we need one experienced driver but we’ll continue to grow young talent that shall end up in Red Bull Racing.”
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