Broken metatarsal, operated on, Daniel Ricciardo is still giving himself a bit of time. The Australian driver has been convalescing since the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25. He will be replaced for the 5th race in a row by Liam Lawson.
AlphaTauri still had the opportunity to replace Ricciardo this week in Doha if the Australian driver did not feel 100% capable of running the two races of the weekend. He notably had to perform a simulation test but AlphaTauri did not communicate on the subject.
Liam Lawson is also competing in Super Formula where he is leading the championship which resumes the last week of October. He was therefore still a wildcard this week but might have to prioritize the Super Formula championship during the next race, in two weeks in Austin, USA. Ricciardo will therefore have to be fully ready even if a replacement is still possible, the USA Grand Prix taking place 4 days before the last race in Super Formula in Japan, starting on October 27.
AlphaTauri has not officially communicated about a return of Ricciardo to Qatar, and press conferences are only scheduled with Tsunoda and Lawson.
Note that Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were confirmed last week as the main drivers for 2024 for AlphaTauri.
