Liam Lawson will return for AlphaTauri at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix one week on from his impressive Formula 1 debut at Zandvoort, Red Bull have confirmed. Daniel Ricciardo has successfully undergone surgery on his broken hand, but it’s unclear at this stage how long his recovery will take.
AlphaTauri have confirmed Lawson will remain in the car until Ricciardo has recovered from his injury.
“We are delighted that Daniel’s surgery went well and that he is now on the road to recovery,” the team said in a statement this morning.
“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 at Zandvoort, will continue to drive alongside Yuki, starting from our home race this weekend in Monza.”
The Kiwi’s call-up comes following a successful debut at the Dutch Grand Prix, where he battled a late call-up and treacherous weather conditions to finish 13th.
“It was good, it was a lot going on. When I was rolling up to the grid and it was starting to rain, it wasn’t the best feeling but the race was okay,” he said following the race.
“I think the second half of the race was not so bad, once we got clean air and also on the inters at the end was not too bad. Just happy to survive.”
Formula 1 takes a two-week break following this weekend’s round, returning for the Singapore Grand Prix on September 18 and the Japanese Grand Prix the week following. It’s unclear whether Ricciardo will be fit for those races.
Keep an eye out for Friday’s Motorsport Diary to see how you can watch and at what times.
Header Image: Peter Fox/Getty Images (Red Bull Content Pool)
