Contrary to recent rumblings, Yuki Tsunoda seems destined to keep his Alpha Tauri seat for 2024.
Outgoing team boss Franz Tost said just a week ago that the Japanese driver being offered a new deal for next season is already "more or less fixed".
But with Liam Lawson performing so well in injured Daniel Ricciardo's place, it was then rumoured that Tsunoda may be shuffled aside to the Red Bull reserve seat for 2024.
"Liam has done what he needed to do and we'll see now who will be in the car next year in the next few days," new Alpha Tauri CEO Peter Bayer told Servus TV in Singapore.
However, Auto Motor und Sport now reports that Tsunoda's new deal for 2024 "should be announced at Suzuka".
As for his 2024 teammate, the German magazine added: "Despite Liam Lawson's good performances, Daniel Ricciardo has a better chance of getting the other cockpit."
What that means for rookie Lawson, 21, remains unclear for now.
"The performance he has shown is a clear exclamation mark," former F1 driver Timo Glock told Sky Deutschland. "We'll have to wait and see what the future holds - it's in Red Bull's hands."
Red Bull will obviously be loathe to let Lawson slip out of its development program, so a move to Williams - to replace rookie Logan Sargeant - seems very unlikely.
And Williams, meanwhile, appears likely to keep Sargeant on board, despite another key mistake in Singapore.
"It's notable that he keeps making mistakes like that," Glock said. "But as long as Williams is behind him, and they appear to be at the moment, he won't lose that cockpit.
"He probably brings certain financial backers with him, so Williams has to pay attention to that aspect as well."
Felipe Drugovich, currently a reserve at Aston Martin, has been trying to secure his Formula 1 debut for 2024, but according to Auto Motor und Sport, he has been priced out of the market for now.
"If last year's Formula 2 champion wants to join Williams, he will have to raise a few more sponsor millions," said correspondent Tobias Gruner. body check tags ::
