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

Daniel Ricciardo’s System One exit has been confirmed after it was introduced he might be changed by the New Zealander Liam Lawson at RB for the rest of the season.

Ricciardo, an eight-time race winner, will make method for Lawson on the subsequent spherical in Austin, Texas on 20 October, bringing the curtain down on a profession that spanned 257 races. The 35-year-old Australian’s future has been unsure for a lot of the season and Lawson, 22, might be handed his likelihood on the concluding six rounds.

“Everybody right here want to thank Daniel for his arduous work throughout the final two seasons with us,” stated RB’s group principal, Laurent Mekies. “He has introduced a whole lot of expertise and expertise to the group with a implausible angle, which has helped everybody to develop and foster a good group spirit.

“Daniel has been a real gentleman each on and off the observe and by no means with out that smile. He might be missed, however will all the time maintain a particular place throughout the Purple Bull household.

“I’d additionally prefer to take this chance to welcome Liam. He already is aware of the group nicely. He drove for us final season, and coped nicely beneath tough circumstances, so it’ll be a pure transition. It’s nice to see younger expertise from throughout the Purple Bull household make the following step. We’re trying ahead to getting our heads down and specializing in the remainder of the season collectively.”

Ricciardo was handed a lifeline by Purple Bull after he was dropped by McLaren on the finish of 2022 following two poor seasons with the British group. He was introduced in by the group’s junior outfit, RB, halfway by means of final season as a alternative for Nyck de Vries, however he broke his wrist in his third look again. Lawson then deputised for Ricciardo throughout the following 5 races.

The Australian returned to the fold – qualifying a powerful fourth in Mexico – however he has been outperformed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda for a lot of this yr, unable to recapture the type of his Purple Bull pomp.

Riccardo has scored simply 12 factors in comparison with Tsunoda’s 22. He has additionally been out-qualified by Tsunoda at 12 of the 18 rounds to this point. His closing act was to take a bonus level off Lando Norris by posting the quickest lap in Singapore final Sunday, which aided the title bid of Max Verstappen, Purple Bull’s defending world champion.