Facing the prospect of losing his spot in Formula 1, “great guy” Daniel Ricciardo showed his class, according to the man who has replaced him.
Australian fan favourite Ricciardo was axed from the RB F1 team following the Singapore Grand Prix last month.
It was a visibly tough week for Ricciardo, with speculation of his future so prevalent that the news of his axing a week later felt like old news.
On the other side of the coin, young New Zealand driver Liam Lawson was being told his childhood dream was being fulfilled.
Lawson replaced Ricciardo during the 2023 season when the Aussie broke his wrist following a crash in the Netherlands — with the Kiwi impressing.
Despite Ricciardo staying on as a full-time driver for RB, Lawson was waiting in the wings for his shot.
In an interview with F1.com. Lawson praised Ricciardo for the man he is despite his career being thrown into limbo.
“Luckily he’s a great guy,” he said.
“He knew it was nothing to do with me. And that’s probably the thing with Daniel for the whole time we’ve been in this situation.
“Even for the last 12 months, it’s never felt like we were in direct competition as much as we all are in the sport in some way.
“With Daniel, it never really felt like that, he was always good to me, he was always open to giving advice when I was driving. He was good to me throughout the year, in any way he could be.”
After learning that he would be replacing Ricciardo for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Texas, Lawson said he spoke with Ricciardo.
The young New Zealander said Ricciardo offered him advice as he prepared to forge his F1 career.
“I went and saw him and said obviously sorry about this whole situation as it’s not nice, and sorry you had to go through it,” Lawson said.
“But he said there’s obviously nothing against me, and he said ‘you get one shot at F1, make sure you take it’ – and he said ‘good luck’.”
Cars will hit the track on Saturday morning, AEDT, with practice and a qualifying session for Sunday morning’s sprint race.
