Lewis Hamilton has paid tribute to Daniel Ricciardo following the announcement he would be leaving the Formula 1 grid with immediate effect.
On Thursday it was confirmed that Ricciardo would be replaced by Liam Lawson in the Visa Cash App RB (Sister team of Red Bull) for the remaining races of 2024.
While there has been no confirmation of retirement it is highly likely we won't see Ricciardo back in F1, with his recent performances not up to scratch and the F1 2025 grid set to feature at least three rookies.
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Ricciardo's F1 career spanned 13 years with the Australian scoring eight wins and 32 podiums which mostly came during his time at Red Bull between 2014-2018.
Following the news, the likes of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris along with the majority of the grid paid tribute to Ricciardo on social media.
Lewis Hamilton even dedicated an entire Instagram post to the 35-year-old's career.
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He wrote: “It’s been an honour to compete with you over the years.
"I’ll never forget the battles, the laughs, and drinking out of your shoe. It was gross, but glad I got to do it with you bud.
“You leave a legacy of always being yourself, which in this sport is never easy. You’ve taken it all with the biggest smile and I salute you for it.
“There is so much more for you up ahead and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Always here for you, man," he finished.
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Despite both Ricciardo and Red Bull insisting the decision to release Ricciardo was made after the Singapore GP, Lawson has revealed he knew about the driver change well in advance.
"It had been the plan for a long time now where this is where it was leading at least," Lawson explained.
"Obviously I had a contract date that needed to be fulfilled so basically it was going towards this way, and then a couple of weeks ago they told me what was going to happen. And then basically not long after that, it was set in stone."
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Ricciardo also released a message to his fans on Instagram following the news of his sacking to.
"I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey," he began.
"To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me, haha, thank you.
"It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure."
Topics: Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Formula 1
Tom Jenkins