AlphaTauri readies for musical chairs as three-way battle for two racing seats brews

The AlphaTauri Formula 1 team will have a massive decision to make as the end of the 2023 season draws near.

With Yuki Tsunoda (23) having solidified his position in the team, the team will likely continue with him into 2024. The second seat, however, is up for grabs, and it will either be Daniel Ricciardo (34) or Liam Lawson (21) who gets the nod.

This seat is already on its third occupant this year, with Lawson taking up the mantle following Ricciardo's crash in Zandvoort. Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries, who failed to impress after a lacklustre debut season.

Despite the team playing musical chairs, the seats must be filled, and not one of the three drivers is guaranteed to race for AlphaTauri next year, making the next few weeks/months very interesting.

Announcement in Japan?

With the F1 circus heading to Japan for this weekend's race, Tsunoda will be raring to go and give his home fans a reason to cheer. However, it will not just be a big weekend for the driver, but for Red Bull and AlphaTauri's engine partner, too.

Enter Honda.

With the Japanese automaker set to supply these two teams with engines until the end of the 2025 season, part of the agreement has always been that a Japanese driver from Honda's ranks must be in either of the two teams.

In Tsunoda's earlier years, he failed to make much of an impact, but he has turned it up this season and stepped up as the team leader in Pierre Gasly's absence. Though the results have gone begging in recent races, he remains a steady choice.

As such, Red Bull, AlphaTauri and Honda may use this weekend's race to announce an extension on Tsunoda's deal, which would keep him in the team through 2024 with the option to extend into 2025.

Honda will partner with Aston Martin from 2026