Liam Lawson opens up on abuse received from Daniel Ricciardo fans for replacing the Australian

Liam Lawson has shared how he tackled negativity that came his way after he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB. Ricciardo raced his last F1 Grand Prix in Singapore before being removed by Red Bull.

Several rumors emerged that Ricciardo could be removed from RB before the Singapore GP. After the race at Marina Bay, Ricciardo shared hugs with many people in the paddock, hinting that it was his last race. A few days after the race, Red Bull officially announced his departure and that Lawson was replacing him.

Even though Lawson received a lot of praise last year when he replaced an injured Ricciardo, he received negative comments when he replaced the Australian this year. This was particularly because of Ricciardo's abrupt removal by the Austrian giants.

However, Liam Lawson said that he had not been paying much attention to the abuse he received after replacing Ricciardo. He added that he was well aware of how the F1 fandom and sport itself works (via PlanetF1):

“I think, honestly, I was pretty well aware of how the sport is. I’ve seen enough over the last couple of years with other drivers. It didn’t have to be me to see exactly what it’s like. To be honest, I tried not to look into it too much,” Liam Lawson said.

The RB driver said he has been quite busy working with the team and wants to show that he is worthy of an F1 seat by performing well on the track.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we had so much to go through, preparations-wise, that’s I didn’t really have too much time to look into that. So I have a chance to obviously show the team and show everybody on track what I can do, and that’s what I’m focused on,” he added.

Ricciardo's performances in the 2024 F1 season were subpar. He couldn't match his teammate Yuki Tsunoda's pace in most races. In terms of points, the Honey Badger was also behind the Japanese.

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Liam Lawson is delighted to get support from New Zealand F1 fans

Though Liam Lawson faced negativity from fans for being Daniel Ricciardo's replacement, he received much support from his home country, New Zealand.

The RB driver shared he received massive praise from his home fans in 2023 when he first replaced Ricciardo for five races. He talked about how difficult it is for a New Zealander to dream about getting into F1 and that he wants to prove to his country that it is possible (via PlanetF1):

“It’s very, very cool. It’s something I felt for a long time, especially the last couple of years, getting closer to Formula 1 – the support from home has been very positive, especially after I drove last year. So to feel that for the last couple of weeks now, the sort of messages and support I’ve seen is pretty cool,” Liam Lawson said.

“It’s something that’s, it’s obviously tough from New Zealand. It’s very, very hard. It’s an unrealistic dream that a lot of people don’t think is possible. So part of me is also, as much as I want to do this for my dream, I also want to prove to everybody home that it is possible to go into Formula 1,” he added.

Lawson secured P9 in the 2024 F1 US GP, his first race after replacing Ricciardo in RB.