It was coincidentally earlier in the same day that I’d learned Nyck de Vries is still contracted to Red Bull in some form – sensibly given the fact Ricciardo’s race seat means one fewer reserve and it therefore might provide the Dutchman with another unexpected chance at some stage – and at his home race with limited practice time left it wasn’t an easy decision for Helmut Marko to make.
Of course he wants to test his drivers and had more to learn about Liam Lawson than de Vries, but it was also a massive challenge to expect Lawson to get up to speed with just one (wet) practice session on such a difficult track. Plus de Vries had already raced well at Monza last year…
All of those factors left Lawson a nervous wreck in the intervening hours before a final call was made. Not because of the prospect of driving, but the prospect of not getting the nod, as he feared de Vries would be recalled and another chance might pass him by. The New Zealander badly wanted to show what he could do regardless of the odds being stacked against him, and that’s exactly the mindset that Red Bull and Marko will want to see.
Lawson got the nod over De Vries, but had far from conditions for his F1 debut
Getty via Red Bull
As for Ricciardo, a rapid trip to Barcelona on Saturday was scheduled to have a consultation and then surgery to help speed up the recovery period. It’s a very different injury to the one Lance Stroll came back from within 12 days at the start of the season – and Singapore (in less than three weeks’ time) a very different track to Bahrain, where Stroll raced with broken wrists – but that’s the first ambitious target Ricciardo has in mind.
Podium a welcome boost for Alpine
If there was a team that needed a big result it was probably Alpine, given the turmoil of Belgium and the restructuring – and team principal search – that is now taking place.
Employees were in good spirits after a reset over the summer break but the reality is there is uncertainty regarding the future direction. So now focus has turned to improving internal communications and giving clarity to team members, rather than big outward-facing statements and a lack of insight for those working so hard each day at Enstone and Viry.
Celebrations for a team that’s been in turmoil
DPPI
That approach is partly driven by the lack of results this season, despite what can be a very quick car at times. And Pierre Gasly delivered on it with an excellent third place having shown strong performance in all conditions during the race.
Mingling with the team ahead of its celebration photo, the relief was palpable, but the irony of both podiums – Esteban Ocon’s in Monaco coming one race after the criticism in Miami – immediately following internal turmoil was also not lost. Perhaps a new tactic will be a further change ahead of each race from now on…
The name Alex Palou
Zak Brown unhappy at Palou snub
DPPI
When Zak Brown sat down for a belated media session on Saturday morning alongside team principal Andrea Stella, the first topic that was brought up had little to do with Formula 1. Alex Palou’s decision not to honour his McLaren IndyCar contract had to be addressed, and Brown tried to leave it at one answer and close it with the fact that legal processes are ongoing.
But the McLaren Racing CEO is clearly irked by Palou’s move – specifically the lack of direct contact that means the pair haven’t actually spoken about the decision – and he found it hard to sidestep further questions. He wants to give his side and is angered that a marquee signing who potentially could have crossed over to F1 has changed his mind.
It is understood that AlphaTauri holds some form of interest in Palou, or at least did, but Brown also feels the about turn is likely to have put doubts in the minds of other F1 teams if they were considering seeing what the Spaniard could do in an F1 car.