In the round-up: Daniel Ricciardo’s rivals expressed their support after RB announced they had fired him from their line-up.
In brief
Departing Ricciardo praised by rivals
Lewis Hamilton was among those who offered words of praise Ricciardo after RB announced Liam Lawson will replace him from the next round.
“It’s been an honour to compete with you over the years,” said Hamilton in a social media post. “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.”
Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon were among Ricciardo’s former team mates to voice their support for him. “Congrats for all you achieved in your career, mate,” wrote Ocon. “Learned a lot from you during our time together. Wishing you all the best for your next adventure.” Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri added their praise.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, whose first victory in charge of the team came courtesy of Ricciardo three years ago, said: “Daniel, you’re one of a kind. A supremely quick driver and an awesome person to be around.
“Your win in Monza will forever be etched into McLaren’s history. It was one of the best moments of my life, and I have the tattoo to prove it! I know that day meant a lot to you, too.”
Miami adds short track layouts
The Miami International Autodrome is adding four extra short layouts for other series to use the venue outside of grand prix weekends.
Celebrity barred from trusteeship days after F1 appearance
Supermodel Naomi Campbell, who joined Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Alpine special consultant Flavio Briatore to meet Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev at the grand prix two weeks ago, has been disqualified from being a charity trustee for five years after a Charity Commission investigation found “multiple instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement” at Fashion for Relief. “The inquiry found that between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5% of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants,” the commission noted.
“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities,” said the Charity Commission deputy director for specialist investigations and standards, Tim Hopkins. “Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them.”
Three-times Indy 500 starter Moran dies
Sports car racer Rocky Moran, who competed in the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions from 1988 to 1990, has died from cancer at the age of 74. He achieved his best finish, 14th place, driving for Foyt in 1989. Moran shared victory in the 1993 Daytona 24 Hours in an All-American Racers Toyota shared with PJ Jones and Mark Dismore.
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Links
Ex-Formula 1 principal defeats Haas photo trademark suit (Bloomberg)
‘A California federal judge threw out Haas Automation Inc.’s lawsuit accusing former Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner of infringing its trademarks in his autobiographical book.’
Off-Strip restaurant sues Las Vegas Grand Prix, F1 and Clark County (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
‘Off-Strip restaurant, Ferraro’s Ristorante, filed a suit in District Court on Tuesday, against various entities, including the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Formula One’s parent company Liberty Media and Clark County, seeking over $50,000 in damages tied to lost business from last year’s race.’
Estre: They keep throwing things at us, but we’re stronger now (WEC)
‘It was a scary moment (with the Toyota). The number eight came out of the pits almost a lap down and he definitely did not try to let me by. He was blocking everywhere and after I had got past, he then re-passed me, which resulted in some contact.’
Michael McDowell on perseverance, understanding data and winding down with Front Row: 12 Questions (The New York Times)
But I want to go to a Formula 1 race, too. I grew up racing go-karts, I’ve raced in Europe, I was on the formula car ladder and then obviously transitioned. I’ve never been to an Indy 500 and never been to a Formula One race. So Formula 1 Monaco and the Indy 500 are on the bucket list.’
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
The best thing I can say about Ricciardo is this: We’ve written quite a few less-than-positive stories about him in recent years and it’s invariably difficult to illustrate them because in 99% of photographs of him he’s beaming that mile-wide grin! Hope we see more of it post-F1.
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) September 26, 2024
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