Oscar Piastri has spoken about the respect he has for dropped McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo who contacted him with a message of support after it was confirmed he would replace his fellow Australian in the F1 seat for next season.
Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix last month it was announced that McLaren had "mutually agreed" to terminate the contract of Ricciardo a year early after he had struggled to match the pace of team-mate Lando Norris this season.
Earlier this month former Alpine driver Piastri joined on a "multi-year" contract in his place. The 21-year-old was impressed when Ricciardo reached out to offer him support.
Piastri told the In the Fast Lane podcast : “That was a really great thing, for Daniel to get in touch.
“I was planning on getting in touch myself, but with the timing of things, he was obviously at a race (the Belgian GP), and quite frankly I didn’t actually know if he wanted to hear from me. I was trying to think of what to say, but he beat me to it.
"A true professional, Daniel is. My respect for him was already extremely high, and it’s only gotten higher in the way he’s responded.”
Piastri has been a reserve driver for Alpine this season after an impressive rise in the sport which has seen him win the Formula 3 title in 2020 and then the Formula 2 championship the following year.
The move by McLaren has left eight-time F1 race winner Ricciardo without a team for next season. Piastri says he admires his fellow Australian on and off the track for his response to the situation.
He added: "Knowing that there were no hard feelings really helped me quite a lot.
"That was good to get in touch. That was a nice moment. It is a bit of a sliding-doors moment, but I think if I can get close to emulating what success he’s had on track and also the character he is off the track, then I think I’ll be doing a reasonable job.”
