Lawson reveals Ricciardo conversation after RB F1 swap

Liam Lawson has revealed a message Daniel Ricciardo relayed to him after being informed of his axe from RB last month.

Ricciardo has been replaced at the Red Bull sister squad for the remainder of the campaign by Lawson, who will have his second stint of F1 races following his five substitute appearances last year.

Lawson has long been linked with a return to the F1 grid, the prospect of which was heavily linked to come in tangent with Ricciardo's dismissal amid a challenging campaign.

However, Lawson highlighted he never felt he was part of a rivalry with the eight-time grand prix winner.

“He's been somebody that's never made it feel like a competition,” Lawson told media including RacingNews365. 

“Over the last 12 months, he's never been somebody that I've really felt directly in competition with.

“We spoke to each other every weekend. To be honest, I spent a lot of time with him over the weekends as well, going through stuff.”

Lawson shares Ricciardo chat details

During the Singapore Grand Prix weekend last month, it was heavily speculated Ricciardo would be ousted after the event.

Lawson has revealed he spoke to Ricciardo after the Australian was informed of his fate and received words of guidance from the 35-year-old.

“He's always been open with advice, and through all of the events that happened leading up to Singapore,” he said.

“Through Singapore, he also made it very clear that there was nothing against me directly.

“And in fact, when I left the end of the weekend and spoke to him, he said, ‘good luck with everything, you get one shot at F1, make sure you make the most of it’ and he wished me well.

“I have a huge amount of respect for him.”