Lawson reveals Ricciardo call over Qatar GP drive

AlphaTauri stand-in Liam Lawson has detailed the bizarre way which he found out he would continue alongside Yuki Tsunoda at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Lawson made his Formula 1 debut at Zandvoort earlier this year, standing in for Ricciardo who picked up a hand injury during practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Ricciardo has been forced to sit on the sidelines since, with Lawson impressing in the driving seat and scoring his first career points in Singapore.

With Lawson overlooked for a full-time seat next season, the Japanese Grand Prix could have been his final race until 2025 with Ricciardo initially targeting a comeback at the Lusail International Circuit this weekend.

But despite returning to simulator duties in the build-up, the Australian will instead return at the United States Grand Prix.

On how he found out he would continue for at least one more race, Lawson told media including RacingNews365.com: “On Monday, I was sitting at lunch and had a random number call me and it was a FaceTime.

“I was really confused because people don't just FaceTime randomly.

“I answered it, and it was just Daniel's face. He basically said that he thought he'd let me have another weekend.

“Obviously good to be back, good to be in the car. This weekend's a very different circuit, but I'm excited.”

Ricciardo likely to return for Austin

On whether Ricciardo would return at the Circuit of the Americas, Lawson replied: “I think that's definitely the target, that’s more likely.

“I would say it's more likely that he will be back in Austin. Obviously, I can't say for certain.

“But we have over a week to give [him] more time to be ready for it. So I would say it's probably Austin.”