Off the back of his early success in Super Formula, Lawson had been thought of as a contender to make the step up to F1 as early as this year in the event that Red Bull elected to replace de Vries amid the rookie’s struggles.
But Ricciardo was instead given the nod to step in for de Vries for the final 12 races of the 2023 campaign, with AlphaTauri making it clear it favoured an experienced driver to help lift it out of its current slump.
