Formula 1: Liam Lawson to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Team RB for the rest of the season
Daniel Ricciardo’s time at Red Bull appears to be over for good.
Team RB announced Thursday that Ricciardo would no longer drive for the team. The news was expected after Ricciardo’s emotions following the Singapore Grand Prix. The 35-year-old made it clear that he knew the race in Singapore could have been his last Formula 1 Grand Prix.
“Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us,” RB team principal Laurent Mekies said in a statement. “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit. Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.”
Liam Lawson will take Ricciardo’s spot alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the final six races of the 2024 season. Lawson, a RB reserve driver, appeared in five races a season ago after Ricciardo suffered a wrist injury ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Ricciardo rejoined the Red Bull family in 2023 as a reserve driver for the team and was promoted to the junior RB team after just 10 races following the firing of Nyck de Vries. Ricciardo took part in two races before the injury and then competed in the final five races of the season.
Ricciardo spent the first eight seasons of his Formula 1 career with Red Bull and won seven races with Red Bull Racing. He had three wins and a third-place finish in the standings in 2014 and was third again in 2016. Ricciardo is currently 14th in the 2024 standings with 12 points. Tsunoda has 22 points.
Ricciardo's move to Renault (now Alpine) is one of the greatest “what-if” moments in modern F1. Ricciardo scored just two podium finishes with the team in two seasons and moved to McLaren ahead of the 2021 season. He got what could be the last Grand Prix win of his career with McLaren in 2021 at the Italian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton famously collided.
At 35, it's hard to see Ricciardo returning to F1. Especially in 2025. Every seat is spoken for outside of the Red Bull family and one spot at Sauber as Mercedes will have Kimi Antonelli replacing Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari will pair Hamilton with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will race for Williams. Haas will field cars for Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman, while Nico Hulkenberg will take one of the Sauber spots. Alpine is elevating reserve driver Jack Doohan to replace Ocon.
