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Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have been retained by AlphaTauri for 2024, with Liam Lawson fulfilling the reserve driver duties for the Italian team. Ricciardo, who made his F1 comeback mid-season at AlphaTauri before sustaining a hand injury, will return as full-time driver in the AlphaTauri’s line-up for 2024.
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Starting in 2021, Tsunoda replaced Daniil Kvyat to partner with Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri, and finished 14th in the Drivers' Standings. In 2022, he finished 17th and is currently 17th in the 2023 season. On the other hand, Ricciardo agreed to join AlphaTauri for 10 races into this season, replacing struggling Nyck de Vries. After just two races, Ricciardo's comeback was cut short when the Australian broke his hand in a crash during the Dutch Grand Prix, but the team had already seen the talent, which made them keep him.
“Next year, the technical regulations remain largely unchanged, and it was therefore logical to go for continuity in our driver line-up too,” Team Principal Franz Tost told Formula 1. “I am very pleased with the development that Yuki has shown over the last two and a half years with our team, and with Daniel’s great race-winning experience, we will have one of the most competitive driver pairings on the grid in 2024,” Franz added.
Tsunoda also opened up after signing with AlphaTauri and said, “I’m so happy to announce that I will be staying with Scuderia AlphaTauri for the 2024 Formula 1 season. I’m looking forward to continuing to fight and collaborate with the team and Daniel.”
Alpha Tauri are currently 10th in the Constructors Championships, with Tsunoda 17th in the Driver’s Standings. While it is unlikely that Ricciardo will make a comeback in Qatar the following time around, the plan is still for him to return at some point this season. While Ricciardo recovers, Lawson will stay in the driver's seat and continue in 2024.
