Albon left gutted about Ricciardo's exit from Formula 1

Daniel Ricciardo made his Formula 1 debut in 2011. Ricciardo started 257 Grands Prix, where he took 32 podiums and eight race victories. The majority of his success came with Red Bull. Albon had joined the Red Bull Junior team in 2012 and would've been working with the Austrians while Ricciardo was winning F1 races for them.

Ricciardo struggled after leaving Red Bull and then Renault. He had an unsuccessful stint at McLaren, and the Australian also failed to perform at AlphaTauri/Visa Cash App RB. Due to his disappointing performance, he was under pressure for some time and was finally sacked after the Singapore GP. After just under 13 years, he says goodbye to the sport (for now).

Albon: 'A true character who will be missed'

There was an outpouring of support for Ricciardo on social media after his exit. Not just from fans, but also fellow drivers who are sad to see him disappear. The topic remained on Albon's mind when speaking to Formula1.com. "I really, really like Daniel. I feel like he's a true character in our sport. I feel like he's very true to himself as well, and it's a big loss to see Daniel go.  I saw the general response from the community of Formula 1, and we will miss him, not to say that he won't come back in some way. I can’t comment about the decision of him being replaced, but yeah, I’ll miss him for sure," Albon said.

Ricciardo has been replaced by Liam Lawson, who will feature alongside Yuki Tsunoda at VCARB in this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. The New Zealander previously replaced Ricciardo for five Grands Prix in 2023 as the Australian picked up an injury.

This article has been created in collaboration with Tim Kraaij

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