'I Don't Understand': Albers Confused Why Lawson Doesn't Get 'Chance' At RB
F1Saturday, 30 March 2024 at 09:00
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers asserted that Liam Lawson deserves a chance in Formula One after good showings last year.
Quite a few drivers have changed seats in the RB team (formerly AlphaTauri or Toro Rosso) over the last few years. Last year, the 22-year-old showed great potential but didn't get a seat for this season anyway.
Lawson got a chance to drive Daniel Ricciardo's AlphaTauri after the Australian suffered an injury during a practice session ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
His recovery was quite lengthy, so all in all, the 22-year-old rookie got a chance to show what he's got during five race weekends of the season.
During these five race weekends, Lawson finished only one behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Yet, when it came to choosing drivers for the 2024 season, the Japanese driver and Ricciardo were preferred over the Kiwi.
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers suggested he can't understand the choice of Red Bull's (they own RB) and RB's management, as he said on De Telegraaf's Formula 1 podcast:
"I don't understand what the fear is about this choice. I just don't understand it."
"Let's be honest, Lawson beat Yuki Tsunoda in those few races. And Tsunoda has consistently been stronger than Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo."
The kind of logic that Albers applies isn't always 100% accurate. However, many experts have agreed that the 22-year-old deserved a seat in F1 after what he showed last year. Albers added:
"You have Lawson – who performed fantastically – he just needs to be given a chance and he doesn't get one? The whole purpose of the team is to train and promote young talent."
When the Italy-based team was named AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso, its purpose was to identify and give opportunities to young, talented drivers to give them their first shot in F1.
The team raised many talents that we know today, such as Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, and Max Verstappen.
However, RB moved away from this mission with the rebrand ahead of the 2024 season, saying they wanted to compete for higher positions in the Championship and needed more experienced drivers.
Liam Lawson is currently waiting on the sidelines to be given a chance, but in a recent interview, he hinted he won't be waiting for RB if any other team decides to give him the opportunity.
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