Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 exit confirmed as Liam Lawson replaces him at RB for rest of season

Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula One exit has been confirmed after it was announced he will be replaced by the New Zealander Liam Lawson at RB for the remainder of the season.

Ricciardo, an eight-time race winner, will make way for Lawson at the next round in Austin, Texas on 20 October, bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned 257 races. The 35-year-old Australian’s future has been in doubt for much of the season and Lawson, 22, will be handed his chance at the concluding six rounds.

“Everyone here would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us,” said RB’s team principal, Laurent Mekies. “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.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition. It’s great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.”

Ricciardo was handed a lifeline by Red Bull after he was dropped by McLaren at the end of 2022 following two poor seasons with the British team. He was brought in by the team’s junior outfit, RB, midway through last season as a replacement for Nyck de Vries, but he broke his wrist in his third appearance back. Lawson then deputised for Ricciardo across the next five races.

The Australian returned to the fold – qualifying an impressive fourth in Mexico – but he has been outperformed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda for much of this year, unable to recapture the form of his Red Bull pomp.

Riccardo has scored just 12 points compared to Tsunoda’s 22. He has also been out-qualified by Tsunoda at 12 of the 18 rounds so far. His final act was to take a bonus point off Lando Norris by posting the fastest lap in Singapore last Sunday, which aided the title bid of Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s defending world champion.