Lawson set to race for AlphaTauri until Daniel Ricciardo is fit

Just a day after the Dutch Grand Prix, ALphaTauri has confirmed that Liam Lawson will continue to drive for Faenza-based outfit until Daniel Ricciardo has recovered from his injury.

Just two races after making his shock return to Formula One, Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand in a crash during second practice for the Dutch Grand on Friday. The team decided that they substitute the Austrian driver with Red Bull junior Lawson.

The Red Bull and AlphaTauri reserve driver, who currently competed in Japan's SuperFormula, qualified 20th and went on to finish the race in P13, making no mistakes despite the extremely difficult weather conditions.

AlphaTauri confirmed on Monday afternoon that the former Formula 2 driver will continue to deputise for Ricciardo until he has returned to full fitness. It means Lawson will compete in this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza with further races depending on how quickly Ricciardo can recover from his injury.

"We are delighted that Daniel's surgery went well and that he is now on the road to recovery," an AlphaTauri team statement read.

"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 in Zandvoort, will continue to drive alongside Yuki, starting from our home race this weekend in Monza."

“Had surgery this morning, got my first bit of metalwork so that’s cool,” Ricciardo said on social media when he posted a photo from his hospital bed on Sunday evening. “Big thanks to everyone who reached out and kept my spirits up. This ain’t a setback, just all part of the comeback.”