"Oscar Piastri! Keep flying the flag": Daniel Ricciardo's emotional farewell message to his Australian counterpart

Daniel Ricciardo was recently pictured with fellow Australian driver Oscar Piastri with both drivers swapping helmets with each other during the Singapore GP. On the helmet, Ricciardo wrote a heartfelt message to Piastri after the former left the F1 grid.

For several years, Daniel Ricciardo was the only Australian F1 driver on the grid. He raced in the sport ever since 2011 and raced for Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, and McLaren. In 2022, he left McLaren and was replaced by another Australian youngster named Oscar Piastri.

Fast forward to 2024, several rumors emerged that Ricciardo could be removed from RB due to his underwhelming performance. The rumors indicated that the 35-year-old could leave after the Singapore GP. After the race at Marina Bay Circuit, the overall mood of the paddock hinted that it was Ricciardo's last race, and eventually, on 26th September, Red Bull announced the news of Honey Badger's departure.

On 11th October, Daniel Ricciardo posted several pictures taken during the Singapore GP where he was seen hanging out with his team members as well as McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. In the picture with Piastri, the two were seen swapping helmets.

Australian GP's official Instagram handle reposted the picture of the two Aussie drivers and captioned what Ricciardo wrote on his helmet before handing it to Piastri.

"Oscar! Keep flying the flag you good thing. To many more wins!" Ricciardo's helmet read.

While there were rumors of Daniel Ricciardo potentially staying with RB or even getting promoted to Red Bull ever since the 2024 F1 season began. However, his consistently subpar performances soon shifted the narrative to RB potentially letting him go. The 2024 season saw the Honey Badger score only 12 points in the 18 races that he participated in.

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Oscar Piastri's mother wrote a heartwarming message for Daniel Ricciardo after his F1 exit

After the official announcement of Daniel Ricciardo's departure was made by Red Bull, many people sent heartwarming messages to the Aussie driver, including Oscar Piastri's mother, Nicole Piastri.

On her official X account on 27th September, the McLaren driver's mother congratulated Ricciardo for the glittering F1 career he has had. She was also excited to learn what would the smiling Honey Badger would do next in his life and wrote that now he can relax after working hard in F1 for several years.

"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 wrote.

In the past, Nicole Piastri has expressed that she is a fan of Ricciardo, especially after her son replaced him in McLaren in 2023.