Lawson confirms target for Ricciardo's return: 'But I'll make preparations'

Liam Lawson starts his fourth Grand Prix weekend in Formula 1 in Japan. The 21-year-old New Zealander admits he is reluctant to return to his role as reserve driver at AlphaTauri, should the team choose to offer Daniel Ricciardo a contract extension. Nevertheless, Lawson would be resigned to the decision.

Earlier, AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer revealed that Daniel Ricciardo would make his return at the Qatar Grand Prix at the earliest. Lawson, who has replaced the Australian since the Netherlands GP at Zandvoort, confirmed that the next race after Japan is the target.

"I think [Qatar] is a realistic goal but I have no idea exactly the chances of that happening or not," Lawson is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "I think after this [race] I'll probably do some preparation for Qatar, but the goal is definitely to have Daniel back by then."

The F1 seat alongside Yuki Tsunoda in 2024 is still unclear, although the latest reports suggest Ricciardo has the best chance of getting the seat. On the one hand, Lawson would understand that choice, but at the same time, he is not too keen on returning to the role of reserve driver.

"I wouldn't be happy to go back to being reserve but, obviously, I know how hard it is to get to Formula 1 and I understand that can be really, really difficult sometimes," explained the New Zealander. "So what will happen will happen, yeah. These things I haven't really thought about too much, I've just tried to make the most of this [opportunity]."