Liam Lawson will make his Formula 1 debut at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix with AlphaTauri after Daniel Ricciardo has been ruled out with a broken hand.
Ricciardo’s participation in FP2 was cut short when he was distracted by Oscar Piastri’s crash at the banked Turn 3 and followed his countryman into the barrier.
The Australian immediately notified his AlphaTauri team that he had hurt his hand in the incident and he was seen nursing his injured arm as he vacated the AT04.
Having been sent to a nearby hospital in Haarlem for an X-ray, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko confirmed that Ricciardo had “broken something in his hand”.
AlphaTauri supported Marko’s comments, revealing that Ricciardo had “sustained a break to a metacarpal on his left hand”.
The Faenza-based team also revealed that Lawson, who was present at the circuit today in his role as reserve driver for the two Red Bull affiliated teams, will take Ricciardo’s place for the remainder of the weekend, starting from FP3 tomorrow morning.
“After today’s incident during Free Practice 2 in Zandvoort, in which Daniel Ricciardo hit the barrier at Turn 3, he was brought to the local hospital and further examinations were carried out,” AlphaTauri stated.
“An X-ray confirmed he sustained a break to a metacarpal on his left hand, and this injury will not allow him to continue his duties, so he will be replaced by the team’s reserve driver Liam Lawson for the remainder of this weekend. The team wishes him all the best for the quickest possible recovery.”
Lawson has previously conducted several FP1 outings for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri but is yet to compete beyond that in an F1 grand prix weekend.
Furthermore, the Kiwi driver is yet to embark on a run in 2023 F1 machinery, with the two Red Bull sides not fulfilling either of their rookie FP1 obligation runs this season.
After finishing third in Formula 2 last season, Lawson is currently competing in the Japanese Super Formula series, where he sits second in the standings.
Lawson was overlooked in favour of Ricciardo when Nyck de Vries was axed only 10 races into his rookie campaign before the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Red Bull opted for experience alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
