Liam Lawson will replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Red Bull finally confirmed on Thursday.

The saga surrounding Ricciardo's future dominated the run-up to and after the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.

Ricciardo was emotional in post-race interviews as he set the fastest lap on his final lap as it turned out to be likely his last race in the sport.

Red Bull, owner of the RB team, has now made the news official and announced that Lawson will step in for Ricciardo from the US Grand Prix onwards.

Lawson, 22, joined the Red Bull driver program in 2019.

The New Zealander drove five races for RB last year as deputy to Ricciardo, who broke a bone in his hand while training for the Dutch Grand Prix.

The news likely signals the end of Ricciardo's F1 career and he bid farewell to the sport in a post on Instagram.

Thanks Daniel 💙
⁰Laurent Mekies about Daniel: “He brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which helped everyone develop and promote a strong team spirit.”#F1 #VCARB pic.twitter.com/cqKrbFAehU

— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) September 26, 2024

“I have loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and a journey,” Ricciardo wrote. “Thank you to the teams and individuals who played their part. To the fans who sometimes love the sport more than me, haha, thank you.”

“There will always be ups and downs but it was fun and to be honest I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure.”

Ricciardo won seven races in his original stint with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018 and also secured victory for McLaren at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

On Thursday RB posted a thank you message to Ricciardopraised him for his service to the team before the press release announcing Lawson followed 20 minutes later.

RB boss Laurent Mekies said: “Everyone here at VCARB (Visa Cash App RB) would like to thank Daniel for his hard work over the last two seasons with us. He brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which helped everyone develop and promote a strong team spirit.

“Daniel was a true gentleman on and off the track and was never without that smile. We will miss him, but he will always hold a special place in the Red Bull family.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season and handled the difficult circumstances well, so it will be a natural transition. It's great to see young talent.” We're looking forward to taking the next step in the Red Bull family and focusing on the rest of the season together.

Although there was no confirmation for 2025 in the release, Lawson is widely expected to continue at RB next season.