Liam Lawson will drive for Red Bull in case of an emergency as F1 team shun any Nyck de Vries comeback hopes

Any hopes for Nyck de Vries returning to the grid are now down as Liam Lawson would be the driver to run for Red Bull in case of any emergency, as recently revealed.

Lawson made his Formula 1 debut at the Dutch Grand Prix this season, replacing Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered a fracture in his hand after crashing out during FP2 at Zandvoort.

The driver, who currently races in the Japanese Super Formula Championship, is also Red Bull's reserve driver. He has been hoping to get a permanent seat in the sport later.

Daniel Ricciardo himself got back at AlphaTauri when the team decided to replace their rookie driver, Nyck de Vries, since he was not performing up to expectations. Although he was almost never at the bottom of the grid, he failed to score points.

Nyck de Vries in the AlphaTauri at Silverstone (British GP, 2023) (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Even after he was replaced, there were some expectations from him to make his way back to the F1 grid as some sort of reserve driver for any team. With Liam Lawson racing at AlphaTauri, a seat would have been open at Red Bull to let De Vries race, but that would not be happening.

In any case of emergency, RBR would have Lawson racing for them instead of AlphaTauri. The latter would have F2 racer Isack Hadjar to race with.

Yuki Tsunoda could have been a potential choice as RBR's driver in a situation like this, but Liam Lawson is already contracted as the team's reserve driver.

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Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo could be a potential pairing at AlphaTauri for 2024, believes F1 journalist

According to journalist Michael Lamonato, AlphaTauri could have Ricciardo and Lawson as their permanent drivers in the upcoming season of Formula 1.

Yuki Tsuonda made his F1 debut with the team in 2021 and has stayed there since. But with his experience, he is now confident enough to be a senior in an F1 team. With none of their drivers confirmed for the upcoming season, this pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson is very likely.

Just in case Tsunoda moves to a different team in 2024, then Lawson could be the Youngblood of the team and Ricciardo's experience could work out. The latter will also help the team with their marketing as they will undergo rebranding once again, as confirmed earlier. This is what Lamonato feels and hence stated that this pairing could help the team.