Liam Lawson admits 'uncomfortable' Daniel Ricciardo situation as he opens up on their relationship

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson has opened up over his relationship with Daniel Ricciardo, revealing how the uncomfortable situation of his F1 exit impacted the pair.

Ricciardo was once one of Red Bull's most promising talents, securing seven out of his eight career wins with the team between 2014 and 2018. But when Max Verstappen joined him at the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2016, it quickly became clear that the Aussie racer would not be regarded as Red Bull's No.1 driver.

In what has frequently been described as the biggest mistake of his career, Ricciardo opted to leave Red Bull and join Renault for the 2019 and 2020 campaigns before heading to McLaren in 2021.

When the fan-favourite racer was dropped by the papaya outfit in favour of fellow countryman Oscar Piastri, Ricciardo turned to the Red Bull family once again, where he went on to act as a Red Bull reserve driver before dipping in and out of their junior team's F1 lineup.

When the squad decided that Nyck de Vries wasn't worth keeping for a full season, Ricciardo was called in to replace him at AlphaTauri, but not long after the swap, the Aussie star broke his hand, handing Lawson his first F1 call up.

Fast forward to the 2024 Singapore GP however, and that injury would prove fatal to Ricciardo's career after RB decided to swap Lawson in again, this time for good.

Lawson reflects on Ricciardo F1 exit one year on

Speaking at this year's race in Singapore last weekend, Lawson said: "For us it was obviously extremely uncomfortable."

"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 he's somebody that's I think my only take-away from that weekend last year was just how much respect I have for him."

Ricciardo's exit handed Lawson the chance to show that he deserved a seat this season, not just within the Red Bull family but even up at the main team. He was promoted to race alongside Verstappen at the start of 2025, but was swiftly demoted back to Racing Bulls when it all proved too much.

Reflecting on his relationship with Ricciardo, Lawson revealed: "He sent me a nice message after Baku and he's obviously off on his own journey at the moment. 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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