Ricciardo replacement reveals Red Bull axing PLANNED

The young star who has taken over from Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB has admitted the switch had been on the cards for some time.

Liam Lawson, who had previously operated as the team's reserve driver in Formula 1, was announced as Ricciardo's replacement following the Singapore Grand Prix.

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The news had been somewhat expected, with speculation over the Australian veteran's future dominating much of the headlines in recent months.

Ricciardo's emotional post-race reaction suggested that he too had already accepted his fate.

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Lawson: 'We all knew what was coming'

Ricciardo joined RB midway through 2023 following a short time away from the sport, but despite declaring his ambitions to earn a shock return to Red Bull, largely failed to live up to expectations.

The eight-time race winner scored just six points racing alongside Yuki Tsunoda last year, and his lack of notable improvement in 2024 prompted team bosses to pull the trigger on his time with the team.

The 35-year-old has refused to completely rule out a comeback in the future, but it is widely believed that he has raced for the last time in F1.

Lawson admitted that last weekend's showpiece in Singapore was an uncomfortable experience, revealing that he already knew how events would play out.

Speaking to The New Zealand Herald, the 22-year-old said: "Obviously I knew about it for the last probably two weeks.

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"But until it's out there to the world it's obviously... doesn’t ever really feel set in stone, I couldn’t tell anybody, it’s a very cool feeling.

"It had been the plan for a long time now.

“Obviously I had a contract date that needed to be sort of fulfilled, so it was going towards this way and then a couple of weeks ago basically they told me this was what was going to happen, and then not long after that, it was basically set in stone."

The Kiwi added: "Singapore was definitely not an enjoyable weekend for me just because we all knew what was coming.

"Daniel has always been very good to me in a lot of ways when I drove last year and then even this season,"

"It wasn’t a nice feeling but I get one shot at F1 and it’s come now and I’m obviously grateful for that opportunity but I now need to take it with both hands."

"He said the same thing to me, he said ‘you need to make the most of it.'"

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