"Now you can breathe again Grace!" - Oscar Piastri's mother shares heartfelt message for Daniel Ricciardo 

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri's mother Nicole paid a touching tribute to fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo after RB dropped the latter at the end of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. The news of his departure from the sport was officially communicated on Thursday, 26 September, with many congratulatory messages coming in for his stellar career in F1.

The 35-year-old was in contention for the Red Bull seat in the summer break but the team decided to stick with Sergio Perez. Four races later, it was announced that Lawson would replace Ricciardo for the remainder of the season.

Oscar Piastri's mom Nicole, who is quite active on social media, congratulated Daniel Ricciardo on his 'stellar' career while claiming that it would be a sigh of relief for his mother, Grace, She wrote on X:

"Congratulations on a stellar F1 career @danielricciardo I can’t wait to see what you do next… And now you can breathe again Grace."

Nicole Piastri previously mentioned that she had mixed emotions when it was announced that her Oscar Piastri would take over Daniel Ricciardo's seat at McLaren in 2023 and revealed on the Red Flag podcast:

"I was like 'oh no wait, oh my God...' and he's nodding, and I said 'oh my God Daniel! I love Daniel!' ... He's like just deadpan he's like 'yep everybody loves Daniel, yeah that's...that's going to be a problem."

RB team principal thanks Daniel Ricciardo for his contribution to the team

Visa Cash App RB team principal Laurent Mekies stated that he was thankful for Ricciardo's stay at the Faenza-based outfit, which he joined last in Hungary replacing Nyck de Vries.

As per F1.com, the French engineer applauded the Aussie for his 'fantastic attitude' and said:

“Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us. He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone develop and foster a tight team spirit."

"Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family," Mekies said.

The eight-time race winner scored 12 points in the 18 races and three Sprints this year, which included him scoring a P4 at the Miami GP Sprint, which remains the best result for the team this year.

He was currently P14 in the driver's championship, tied with Alex Albon on points but behind on countback, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda sits in P12. The former Red Bull driver would be replaced by Liam Lawson, who initially substituted for him last year after the former broke his hand in Zandvoort.