Daniel Ricciardo will be present for this weekend’s F1 Singapore GP, but only for engineering purposes and not racing.
Considering he is still recovering from the injury suffered at Zandvoort, Ricciardo will present in this weekend’s F1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Circuit. The Australian won’t be driving the car with Liam Lawson still to compete alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
Instead, Ricciardo will be present in the debriefs and engineering meetings. He will not address any media and won’t be part of any PR activities too. It was made clear by Red Bull boss Christian Horner that the Australian will not make it to Singapore.
The ideal return is likely to happen in Japan and or Qatar which they will assess after this weekend’s Singapore GP. So far, Lawson has done a decent work and came close to his first points in Monza where he eventually ended up 11th in the sole AlphaTauri.
But Singapore GP will be a new challenge considering he has not raced at the circuit yet. He is feeling good after a full weekend in Monza. “I definitely felt more comfortable in Monza than in Zandvoort, even if there’s still a lot to learn,” said Lawson. “When you get more comfortable in these kinds of cars, it can make quite a big difference.
“Having done two races now, I’m also getting a better understanding of the difference between the tyre compounds, which is so important. I’d say Monza was pretty successful, even if it was disappointing to finish so close to the points. I think if I had had a better start, perhaps things could have been different, but it’s something that I will learn from, and I’m just excited moving forward.
“I was in Singapore last year as a reserve driver. When I was a kid, it was my favourite circuit. I think because it was a night race and just looked really cool. I used to play it on the Formula 1 games all the time. My dad actually used to promise me every year that he would take me to the Singapore Grand Prix, and in the end, we never went, but he’s going to be coming to the Grand Prix this weekend, so actually I’m taking him!
“I know this is a very tough race physically, and when you get thrown into F1 in this situation, even with all the training in the world, it’s still such a tough adjustment. It’s going to be extremely difficult, but we’ve been training for it and doing everything we can to prepare for that. Last year, I experienced the nighttime routine. It’s cool, to be honest, to go through a weekend like that. It’s a bit different to normal.
“Obviously, the biggest adjustment will be getting used to the track, as I’ve only driven it on the sim, and street circuits are probably the hardest to replicate. They take confidence, and when you’re new to the track, or even my situation being new to Formula 1, having that confidence early in the weekend is pretty tricky. I’ll be aiming to build up as many laps as we can, a bit like Monza, to be honest. That was the target there, and it will be a similar sort of thing. Generally, I like street circuits, for example, I absolutely love Monaco, so I’m expecting to enjoy Singapore too,” summed up Lawson.
Here’s AlphaTauri with 2024 dynamic branding
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda at Nordschliefe
Here’s Daniel Ricciardo showing his stitches
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on AlphaTauri doc world premier
