Liam Lawson has revealed how words of advice from Daniel Ricciardo helped ease him through a difficult Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
For Lawson and Ricciardo, the few days were a contrast in emotions as the 22-year-old New Zealander knew he would be taking over the 35-year-old Australian's RB seat after the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Lawson has since confirmed he knew he would be promoted prior to the Azerbaijan/Singapore double-header. Ricciardo, however, was only told he was being axed between those two races.
Naturally, it made for an uncomfortable weekend in Singapore at times for Lawson, yet the younger driver has explained how elder statesman Ricciardo was on hand to keep him on an even keel.
"Not good, honestly," said Lawson when asked by the New Zealand Herald how he felt given the situation. "Singapore was definitely not an enjoyable weekend for me, just because we all knew what was coming.
"At the same time, Daniel has always been very good to me in a lot of ways. When I drove last year, and then even this season, he's always been somebody that...I've never felt in competition with him, or anything like that. He never made it feel like that.
"So it wasn't a nice feeling.
"But for me, 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.
"At the same time, he [Ricciardo] said the same thing to me. He said you need to make the most of it."
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Lawson simply 'has to perform'
Lawson has further praised Ricciardo for the way he managed the weekend, adding: "He did a very good job. Honestly, I have a huge amount of respect for how he dealt with everything.
"It's a similar position I was in last year, but the guy is a lot more famous than I am. He was getting a lot of questions, and trying to sidestep those, he did a very good job at it."
Lawson now has six grands prix to prove he is worthy of a permanent contract for next season, potentially to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull, and not just to continue as Yuki Tsunoda's team-mate at RB.
Beyond that, Lawson knows he simply has to deliver again, as was the case last season when he replaced Ricciardo at AlphaTauri for five races as the latter recovered from a broken left hand.
"I've got to the end of the season, and then I'll find out more as the season goes on," said Lawson. "At this stage, it's the six races.
"I need to perform. I need to try and show my worth in F1 and do a similar job as I did last year. What's given me the shot now is what happened last year. So I just need to do enough to stay in the seat next year."
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