Rumor: AlphaTauri F1 Team to confirm Tsunoda for 2024 at Suzuka (Update)

(GMM) Liam Lawson looks set to be left out of Alpha Tauri’s race driver lineup for 2024.

Since jumping into the injured Daniel Ricciardo’s cockpit at Zandvoort, the 21-year-old New Zealander has impressed – and almost caught up with team regular Yuki Tsunoda’s points haul.

It triggered speculation that Japanese Tsunoda might be relegated to a reserve role at Red Bull.

That would have opened the door for a Ricciardo-Lawson lineup for 2024. But instead, it is believed the Red Bull-owned team is set to announce at his home race at Suzuka that Tsunoda, 23, is being retained for a fourth consecutive season.

“Negotiations are reaching a final stage,” new team CEO Peter Bayer is quoted as saying in the Japanese media on Wednesday.

“We will be able to make an announcement soon.”

When asked if the negotiations are with Red Bull’s driver guru Dr Helmut Marko, Bayer answered: “Negotiations are underway with Honda.”

Indeed, Tsunoda is backed by Red Bull’s ongoing engine partner Honda, but the energy drink owned team is transitioning to full control of its own power unit subsidiary by 2026.

When asked when an announcement will be made, Bayer said: “Probably before the Japanese GP.”

Some observers will be stunned that Alpha Tauri and Red Bull would leave the impressive rookie Lawson on the bench for next year.

Marko acknowledged to Blick newspaper on Wednesday: “We have a luxury problem.

“But anyone who doesn’t drive in our B team next season will be the reserve and simulator driver for all four cars.”

There is no way that Yuki Tsunoda was ever not going to be re-signed with AlphaTauri as they and sister team Red Bull run Honda engines.

(GMM) Contrary to recent rumblings, Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda seems destined to keep his AlphaTauri F1 seat for 2024.

Outgoing team boss Franz Tost said just a week ago that the Japanese driver being offered a new deal for next season is already “more or less fixed”.

But with Liam Lawson performing so well in the injured Daniel Ricciardo’s place, it was then rumored that Tsunoda may be shuffled aside to the Red Bull reserve seat for 2024.

“Liam has done what he needed to do and we’ll see now who will be in the car next year in the next few days,” new Alpha Tauri CEO Peter Bayer told Servus TV in Singapore.

However, Auto Motor und Sport now reports that Tsunoda’s new deal for 2024 “should be announced at Suzuka”.

As for his 2024 teammate, the German magazine added: “Despite Liam Lawson’s good performances, Daniel Ricciardo has a better chance of getting the other cockpit.”

What that means for rookie Lawson, 21, remains unclear for now.

“The performance he has shown is a clear exclamation mark,” former F1 driver Timo Glock told Sky Deutschland. “We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds – it’s in Red Bull’s hands.”

Red Bull will obviously be loathe to let Lawson slip out of its development program, so a move to Williams – to replace rookie Logan Sargeant – seems very unlikely.

And Williams, meanwhile, appears likely to keep Sargeant on board, despite another key mistake in Singapore.

“It’s notable that he keeps making mistakes like that,” Glock said. “But as long as Williams is behind him, and they appear to be at the moment, he won’t lose that cockpit.

“He probably brings certain financial backers with him, so Williams has to pay attention to that aspect as well.”

Felipe Drugovich, currently a reserve at Aston Martin, has been trying to secure his Formula 1 debut for 2024, but according to Auto Motor und Sport, he has been priced out of the market for now.

“If last year’s Formula 2 champion wants to join Williams, he will have to raise a few more sponsor millions,” said correspondent Tobias Gruner.