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In the closing moments of the Singapore Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo made a quick pit stop for a fresh set of soft tires. Once back on the track, he sped through the Marina Bay circuit, ultimately claiming the fastest lap—an important point that he denied Lando Norris, who is closely contending with Max Verstappen for the drivers’ title. This achievement might mark Ricciardo’s final act in Formula 1.
For those not closely following the F1 news cycle, you may have missed that leading up to the Singapore race, rumors swirled about Ricciardo potentially competing in his last race with VCARB, the junior team linked to Red Bull Racing.
To grasp the reasons for Ricciardo’s precarious situation, we must rewind to early summer. Max Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, experienced a significant decline in performance, which coincided with McLaren narrowing the gap to Red Bull in the World Constructors’ Championship. This prompted Red Bull to scramble for solutions, especially since Perez was contracted until 2025, with an option extending to 2026.
Reports suggested there was a performance clause in Perez’s contract: if he had a 100-point deficit to Verstappen at the end of the summer shutdown, Red Bull could replace him during that break. Speculation arose that Ricciardo would take over Perez’s seat, while Liam Lawson would partner Yuki Tsunoda at VCARB.
Despite the chatter, Perez firmly dismissed the rumors. However, Red Bull has a history of mid-season changes to its driver lineup—just consider Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Daniil Kvyat, Nyck de Vries, and Brendon Hartley. Many fans and analysts expected Perez was facing the exit.
Surprisingly, just two days into the summer break, Red Bull announced it would retain Perez. Speculations suggested that Liberty Media might have intervened, aiming to avoid disrupting the Mexican Grand Prix, but a more plausible explanation centered on Perez’s substantial sponsorship contributions from businessman Carlos Slim, along with Red Bull finally acknowledging that the issues with its car were not entirely on the driver.
“We traced the development history back, and it turned out that the first mistake we made was with an underbody upgrade in 2023 in Barcelona,” admitted Christian Horner, as the RB20 car struggled to perform. “That was also when Checo started having car troubles. We didn’t take it seriously since Max kept winning.”
Though Red Bull decided to stick with Perez, the team still aimed for a reshuffle. Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s F1 director, noted after Perez’s re-signing that the decision indicated that VCARB’s shareholders expected it to act as a junior team. He confirmed that Ricciardo’s opportunity to secure a seat at Red Bull hinged on exceptional performances, a criteria no longer applicable as Perez retained his position. Marko hinted that VCARB would soon need to promote a young driver—pointing towards Liam Lawson.
This put Ricciardo under scrutiny once more. In 18 races, he had only managed to outperform teammate Tsunoda seven times, with only three of those performances earning points. Tsunoda had accumulated 22 points compared to Ricciardo’s 12—far from the outstanding results Marko desired.
In 2023, Lawson substituted for Ricciardo during a five-race stretch as the latter recovered from a wrist injury. The New Zealander was seen as a strong contender for VCARB’s 2024 lineup, but the team ultimately opted to keep Ricciardo.
Now, turning to the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, while F1 contracts are notoriously opaque, several sources reported that Lawson’s contract contained a crucial clause: if Red Bull did not offer him a seat by a specific deadline, he would be free to explore opportunities elsewhere.
This development left Ricciardo in a precarious position.
Needing a remarkable performance in Singapore, Ricciardo’s luck didn’t turn around. He failed to advance beyond Q1 and started the race in 16th, while Tsunoda managed to qualify for Q3 and started in eighth. Although Tsunoda fell out of the points during the race, Ricciardo struggled to gain ground.
In the last moments of the 62-lap race, VCARB called Ricciardo into the pits to equip him with soft tires, enabling him to chase the fastest lap—a point crucial for Norris in his campaign against Verstappen. In a twist of fate, Ricciardo, who had previously departed Red Bull to avoid being a mere supporting driver for Verstappen, complied with the team’s directives.
Laurent Mekies, VCARB’s head, denied that Ricciardo’s fastest lap was intended to obstruct Norris’s quest for points, stating, “Given this may have been Daniel’s last race, we wanted him to enjoy it and leave with the fastest lap.”
Ricciardo deserved more recognition than that as he potentially culminated his Formula 1 career.
Despite not securing a seat for 2025 and lacking the sponsorship clout of Perez, Ricciardo has made significant contributions to Formula 1. His charismatic personality and humorous nature turned him into a standout figure on the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive. Viewers who discovered the sport during the pandemic were drawn in by the allure of Formula 1, but Ricciardo’s lighthearted moments offered relatable glimpses of a driver’s life, making him accessible to a new fanbase.
This aspect of his character should have earned him a more respectful farewell. If Singapore was indeed Ricciardo’s final race, it should have been clearly communicated, granting him the opportunity to properly bid farewell.
Instead, after he exited the car, Ricciardo faced challenging questions about an uncertain future.
“Look, obviously, there’s a realistic chance that it’s not going to happen,” he acknowledged when asked about his participation in the upcoming United States Grand Prix.
Rather than deflecting, Ricciardo seized the moment to reflect on his career and articulate what he has been striving for.
“There was a lot of pressure this weekend, and I would have loved to have performed better. Who knows if that would have changed anything? The decisions might have been made even before the weekend.
“You have to keep perspective, and I’ve always said I don’t want to just be someone taking up space on the grid and occasionally fighting for points, which has often been the case this year.
“The initial goal was to perform well enough to get back into Red Bull and fight for wins again, to prove I still have it. Ultimately, I feel I fell short. So now it’s about asking myself what I’m fighting for—what will give me fulfillment?
“I’ve been a young driver, and at some point, I don’t just want to take up space. However, you must be selfish in this sport.
“If I cannot fight for the front with Red Bull, then I have to consider, ‘What am I still doing here?’ I’ve come to terms with that.
“I’ve aimed to become a World Champion, striving to be the best at something in the world. It’s a tall order, and while some achieve it, others don’t.
“In the end, if I came up a bit short, I can’t be too hard on myself. I’m proud of the effort I’ve put in, and for that, I harbor no regrets or what-ifs. I’ve genuinely put my best foot forward.”.
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