Red Bull’s selection of the Qatar GP coincides with the confirmation of Daniel Ricciardo’s return date.
Liam Lawson has filled in for the injured Australian driver for the past four race weekends and will do so again in Qatar after breaking a bone in his left hand that required surgery.
At the US Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo will make his Formula 1 comeback.
Since breaking a bone in his left hand at the Dutch Grand Prix more than five weeks ago, the AlphaTauri racer has been sidelined.
He had to undergo surgery, which prevented him from competing in the races in Zandvoort, Monza, Singapore, and Japan.
The target return date had been proposed as the Qatar Grand Prix.
Additionally, this week, Ricciardo went back to the simulator to assess his level of preparedness for the race at the Losail International Circuit.
Even though the session reportedly went well, Ricciardo is still not fully fit. Red Bull has delayed the 34-year-old’s return to competition out of an abundance of caution.
In Qatar, Liam Lawson will once more replace the Australian and compete in Formula One for the fifth time.
The Austin race two weeks later will mark Ricciardo’s return to competition, a Red Bull representative told Mirror Sport.
Since rejoining the team in July, he has only competed in two races for AlphaTauri.
He was chosen to replace Nyck de Vries and competed in the Grands Prix in Hungary and Belgium prior to the summer break.
However, as the second half of the season got underway at Zandvoort, he suffered that injury.
After going for several months without driving an F1 car, Ricciardo had to get back up to speed in both of those races but failed to record any points. In his stead, Lawson finished ninth in Singapore to secure AlphaTauri’s best season performance.
However, it wasn’t enough to guarantee a place in the 2024 race.
Lawson will once more serve as a reserve for both the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams as Red Bull has decided to stick with Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda for the upcoming season.
Even though a spot on the 2025 starting lineup cannot be guaranteed at this early stage, Lawson will be in a great position to take his first full-time F1 race seat by then.
The New Zealander’s performances during his brief assignment have left Red Bull’s top brass very impressed.
But for the time being, Lawson will concentrate on his title defense in the Japanese Super Formula series after this weekend’s racing in Qatar.
Later this month is the doubleheader final round.
