An F1 star has revealed a classy gesture from iconic racer Daniel Ricciardo following his axe from Red Bull last year.

Ricciardo was replaced by Liam Lawson at Red Bull’s sister team back in September 2024, with the Australian then opting to retire from F1 altogether.

It brought to an end a career for the fan favourite that had spanned since 2011, and had seen him claim eight grands prix victories, seven of which were earned with Red Bull.

Now, Ricciardo is an ambassador for Ford Racing, but it seems that he still keeps an eye on F1, particularly his former colleagues.

Lawson spent the 2024 season as a reserve driver for both Red Bull and their sister team, and had to be patient for a full-time opportunity on the grid after excelling in 2023 when replacing an injured Ricciardo.

When his opportunity came at the expense of Ricciardo again almost exactly a year later, the New Zealander impressed again, and that was enough to see him promoted up into the main Red Bull seat alongside Ricciardo’s former team-mate Max Verstappen for 2025.

However, Lawson’s Red Bull career did not go to plan, with the Kiwi being axed from the role after just two race weekends, and demoted back down into the Racing Bulls seat.

Lawson has explained how tough that situation was, but also how Ricciardo helped him to overcome it.

“He’s been somebody that I obviously looked up to when I was very young,” Lawson told media during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.

“Then, after working alongside him and closely with him in the last couple of years… I learned to have a huge amount of respect [for him] with how everything went down last year, especially, and how respectful he was towards me, and that never changed.

“And then going into this year, especially earlier in the year with how tough it was, he’s somebody I spoke to quite a bit.

“Every time I picked up the phone to ask for advice, he was always there to talk. He’s somebody that I have a very, very good amount of respect for.”

Lawson working his way back

Following his axe from Red Bull, Lawson spent the rest of 2025 trying to rebuild his confidence alongside Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls.

While it was Hadjar who ultimately outshone Lawson and has been given the Red Bull seat for 2026, Lawson performed well in the second half of the season, and has done enough to keep his full-time status on the F1 grid.

Lawson scored 34 of his 38 points overall in the final 14 races of the season, highlighting his growing confidence in the Racing Bulls machinery.

He will head into 2026 being partnered by 18-year-old rookie Arvid Lindblad, and Lawson will be seen as the number one, experienced racer in that team, so the pressure will be on the 23-year-old to outperform his teenage team-mate.

Fail to do so, and his status as a full-time racer in F1 may well end come the end of next season.

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