Liam Lawson has followed the advice Daniel Ricciardo gave him just days before Formula 1 axe

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Daniel Ricciardo told Liam Lawson there were ‘no hard feelings’ after he lost his RB seat last month. The team dropped Ricciardo following the Singapore GP, drafting in Lawson for the final six races and potentially beyond.

Lawson had loomed over Ricciardo’s shoulder for much of the campaign. The youngster impressed when he stood in for the injured Australian at five races in 2023.

It was only a few races before it became clear that a mid-season driver change was possible. Ricciardo was simultaneously trying to earn a promotion to Red Bull and save his own seat.

Marko accused Lawson’s camp of feeding the media misleading stories about an imminent swap. But this didn’t seem to anger Ricciardo.

F1 cameras often cut to Lawson in the garage when the eight-time race-winner made a mistake, but he didn’t criticise him publicly. There was clearly respect between the two.

Eventually, Red Bull recognised that Ricciardo was no longer at the level required to partner Max Verstappen. Lawson is now auditioning for the same role, with Sergio Perez still under intense pressure.

Liam Lawson has followed Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘take it with both hands’ advice at RB

Speaking in the aftermath of his ascension, Lawson said he had a ‘very good relationship’ with Ricciardo. He also revealed that he saw the 35-year-old shortly before his exit and received some advice.

“I saw him before he left, and I knew at that point that he wasn’t going to come back,” he said. “He was like ‘make sure you take it with both hands, good luck, there’s absolutely no hard feelings’. It’s the way the sport is.”

Lawson has certainly taken heed in his first three races. He’s already scored points twice – something Ricciardo only managed four times in 18 rounds.

But he didn’t need to be told to drive flat-out. Instead, Ricciardo’s advice is most evident in his aggressive approach.

Lawson angered Fernando Alonso in his first race back. The Spaniard felt he was overly aggressive in his defensive driving during the USA Sprint, but the stewards didn’t punish him.

A week later in Mexico, Lawson clashed with Perez, bumping into the Red Bull driver at turn five. While there was no penalty here either, the resulting sidepod damage ruined the latter’s race.

Red Bull really impressed by how Liam Lawson has dealt with one competitor

In a ‘perfect’ scenario for Lawson, he battled Perez once again at the Brazilian GP. Scrapping with midfield cars reflects poorly on the Red Bull driver.

Lawson moved under braking in the Brazil Sprint, Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok says, but Perez was able to get the move done at turn one anyway. David Croft felt it ‘could have been naughty’.

While Red Bull have been impressed by how Lawson has dealt with Alonso, they’ll want him to show a bit more caution around Perez. RB are the junior team, after all, even if they’re nominally independent.

It’s natural that Lawson views their duels as an opportunity to prove himself. But he must also know when to put Red Bull’s interests above his own.