Daniel Ricciardo meets with ex-Red Bull star in wholesome moment

Former F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has met up with an ex-Red Bull driver as snaps of the pair have been shared on social media following last weekend's United States Grand Prix.

As F1 returned to the classic Circuit of the Americas, Ricciardo kept himself busy away from the sport, one year on from the event where he was first replaced at Racing Bulls by Liam Lawson.

This time last year, Ricciardo was coming to terms with an uncertain future having been dropped by Red Bull's junior outfit in favour of the Kiwi racer.

The decision went on to become the one that finally ended Ricciardo's F1 career altogether, but Red Bull were criticised heavily for doing it so suddenly, especially ahead of a track where he had so many fans waiting to support him.

Despite his absence from the US GP both this year and last year, Ricciardo managed to maintain a strong presence across the F1 weekend in Austin thanks to his clothing brand Enchante.

For the second year in a row, the 36-year-old hosted fans in Austin at a pop-up shop for the latest lines from his lifestyle brand, which continues to draw heavy inspiration from motorsport style.

And whilst in Austin for the event, F1 driver Pierre Gasly has taken to Instagram to reveal that he met up with Ricciardo, with both former Red Bull stars sharing some quality time in a rare reunion.

In snaps shared to Gasly's Instagram ahead of this week's race in Mexico, the pair could be seen smiling and chatting outside a Mexican restaurant in Austin, before they hopped into Ricciardo's Ford, where Gasly handed the driving back to the ex-F1 star.

How Gasly built F1 career away from Red Bull

Though the Frenchman now competes for Alpine, he was handed his chance in F1 thanks to being a Red Bull junior, just like Ricciardo was.

In 2017, Gasly made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso, now known as Racing Bulls, when Ricciardo raced for the energy drink giants' main team alongside Max Verstappen.

Between 2014 and 2018, Ricciardo secured seven of his eight career wins with Red Bull, but after playing second fiddle to his junior team-mate Verstappen, the Aussie racer left in pursuit of becoming a No.1 driver for one of Red Bull's rivals.

That decision is often referred to as the worst of his career, and the beginning of the end for Ricciardo in F1.

But it was Ricciardo's departure that handed Gasly his chance with the main F1 team, with the Frenchman handed the seat alongside Verstappen for the start of the 2019 season.

However, his failure to adapt to the demands of Red Bull led to him being demoted back down to the junior team after 12 races, with Alex Albon handed the opportunity instead.

This driver swap was hardly Red Bull's first, but it kick started a long list of drivers who were plucked out of their seat at the junior team, arguably prematurely, in hope of matching the pace of Verstappen, who has of course gone on to become a four-time champion.

Liam Lawson, Nyck de Vries and naturally, Ricciardo, all had their chance in an F1 seat cut short thanks to Red Bull, but where Ricciardo and De Vries have been ruled out of a comeback following their sacking, Gasly managed to rebuild his career with Alpine.

Gasly has now cemented himself as Alpine's No.1 driver, with his experience and skill crucial to the team next year as the new regulations come in for 2026.

If Gasly's career teaches us one thing, it's that finding a team that values expertise is key to securing a seat away from the Red Bull driver programme, something his ex-team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has so far failed to do, with an uncertain future in the sport awaiting him.

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