AlphaTauri set to announce drivers as Williams told to approach Lawson – F1 news round-up

Henry Valantine 19 Sep 2023 11:59 PM

AlphaTauri drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. F1 news — AlphaTauri drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.

这是F1新闻的另一个忙碌的一天,s fallout continues from the Singapore Grand Prix and attention begins to turn to Japan this weekend.

AlphaTauri are in the headlines for having reportedly decided upon their 2024 driver line-up, though that has yet to be confirmed, and pungent pundit opinion from the weekend still hangs in the air from a frantic Singapore Grand Prix.

Let’s dive into the most popular F1 news from Tuesday.

AlphaTauri reportedly set to retain Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo

A report from German outlet Auto Motor und Sport claims Yuki Tsunoda has agreed terms to stay on at AlphaTauri for the 2024 season, and he could have his new deal announced at his home race at Suzuka this weekend.

Tsunoda stood out alongside Nyck de Vries earlier in the season, while he has been significantly more challenged alongside Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson in more recent races.

AMuS also claim AlphaTauri are set to hold onto Ricciardo for next season, with the Australian still on the sidelines for now as he recovers from a broken hand.

PlanetF1.com has approached AlphaTauri for comment on AMuS’ report, but has not yet received a response from the team.

Brundle: AlphaTauri no-show a ‘sporting disappointment’

While Max Verstappen was handed a reprimand for impeding Tsunoda at the Singapore Grand Prix, no AlphaTauri representative was required to be at the FIA hearing over the matter.

Despite this lack of requirement from the governing body, this has led to questions about the two Red Bull outfits working alongside each other to potentially protect the World Championship leader’s interests.

“Quite how Max Verstappen didn’t also get a penalty for impeding Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying when considering other penalties applied this season was a great surprise to many in the paddock, which I confidently predict includes the team and driver in question,” Brundle wrote in hisSky Sports column.

“That Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri team didn’t send a representative to the hearing, albeit as the junior Red Bull team, was a sporting disappointment to me.”

Williams told to swoop for Liam Lawson

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes current AlphaTauri substitute Liam Lawson is making a fine impression in Formula 1, and Williams should be considering him for a 2024 seat.

Only the AlphaTauri seats and one Williams drive remain uncontracted for next year now, and if Lawson is the one to miss out in the Red Bull junior ‘musical chairs’, former Lotus and HRT driver Chandhok thinks his performances have been more than worthy for a drive at Williams next year, based on what he has done in such a short space of time.

“You’ve got to have the conversation, haven’t you?” Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1. “Because, you know, Albon’s out-qualified Sargeant on every occasion, he has had scored all the points so far for Williams.

“If you are Williams, you should be shopping around and Liam Lawson has put himself on the market in a very good way.”

McLaren expect Red Bull ‘anomaly’ to reset in Suzuka

After a weekend in which they were nowhere near the pace, Red Bull believe they will have the speed to compete again at Suzuka, and their rivals think the same.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown thinks the team will be back at the top at the weekend in Japan, expecting their Singapore performance to be just an “anomaly” on an otherwise dominant season to date.

“Not quite sure why they weren’t on the pace as normal,” he said.

“I can’t imagine that it’s going to be the new norm. It’d be nice if it is but you know, I think clearly the field’s tightening up because they had to work pretty hard for it in Monza so it’s going to be an exciting seven races to go.”

Fernando Alonso ‘threw in the towel’ in Singapore struggles

David Coulthard believes it looked as though Fernando Alonso “threw in the towel” while struggling in Singapore at the weekend.

It was Alonso’s first time not finishing in the points all season long, with a five-second penalty for crossing the pit entry line followed by a slow pit stop by the Aston Martin pit crew, and the two-time World Champion calling his car “undriveable” on team radio.

But given the intensity of the race, 13-time Grand Prix winner Coulthard saw a different side to Alonso on Sunday.

“That’s normally not at all the way he is,” he told Channel 4. “He’s just an absolute samurai fighter and just keeps going. Afterwards he looked like he’d really been through the wars and looked every one of his 42 years.”