Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson revealed the support that he got from former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo during an “uncomfortable” time in his career.
Lawson replaced the Aussie last year at Racing Bulls, starting with the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix and the subsequent handful of races.
This was the second time that Lawson replaced Ricciardo at the Red Bull Junior team. The first came back in 2023, when Riccardo broke his hand at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Ricciardo missed a couple of races after the Dutch GP, which Lawson filled in for, but the veteran took over once he was fit.
Lawson impressed during his time as a substitute, enough for Red Bull leaders to place the Kiwi in the Racing Bulls car after Ricciardo struggled to impress the following year.
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Ricciardo was trying to secure a seat at Red Bull Racing next to his former teammate, Max Verstappen. Sergio Perez was going through a tough time, and the team’s decision-makers were hoping for Riccardo to make the case to replace Perez.
He failed to do so, and Red Bull gave Liam Lawson a chance for the last handful of races, dropping Ricciardo from Racing Point.
Now a year removed from that situation, Lawson reflected on how he felt during the process amid replacing a fan-favorite like Ricciardo.
“I mean, for us it was obviously extremely uncomfortable,” Lawson said, according to Motorsport.com. “I think the only thing I took away from it was how much of a good person Daniel is and how he was to me through the whole journey from when I first came into this when he had his injury to going back to reserve.
“We had a very good relationship. We still do, honestly, and I think my only takeaway from that weekend last year was just how much respect I have for him.
“He sent me a nice message after Baku, and he’s obviously off on his own journey at the moment, and yeah. He’s just somebody who’s been very supportive, obviously.
“We’re from the same part of the world as well so it’s something that we probably both understand. It’s quite difficult to get to this point and we’re both very lucky.”
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Lawson is stuck in a similar position as Ricciardo. He is facing intense pressure from Arvid Lindblad, a Red Bull junior driver currently in F2, who is rumored to join Racing Bulls as part of the lineup.
Red Bull promoted Lawson to its senior team at the start of the season, but after two race weekends, they moved him down and brought up Yuki Tsunoda.
With no reasonable path back to Red Bull and Isack Hadjar lined up for promotion into Red Bull, Lawson’s future is murky, just like Tsunoda’s.
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