RB has announced the much-anticipated news that Daniel Ricciardo will not complete the 2024 Formula 1 season with the team as Liam Lawson takes his place. But while there is rationale behind the mid-season swap, the handling of the saga was farcical.
Ricciardo’s media session prior to the Singapore Grand Prix being centred on his position in the sport was not unexpected. The Australian had been dealing with question marks over his F1 prospects since the season began back in Bahrain in March.
But having insisted that an outcome on whether he will remain with RB into 2025 is what he was anticipating coming over the autumn break as he dampened concerns surrounding an even earlier dismissal, Ricciardo cut a resigned figure post-race as he admitted it could’ve been his last outing.
The drastic reversal in tone indicated that something was in the works and, less than one week on, RB has published that Ricciardo will not be in the car once the campaign resumes next month in Austin.
READ MORE: Liam Lawson to replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB for remainder of F1 2024
Ricciardo’s results have not been bad enough to vindicate his mid-season chop. However, there are other considerations to take into account when discussing the decision that appears poised to have brought an end to Ricciardo’s protracted career in the series.
Ricciardo was brought back into the Red Bull stable and handed a subsequent F1 reprieve with its second-string squad, then known as AlphaTauri, last term with the idea that he could rediscover the level that would earn him a coveted return to the senior setup.
There have been occasional sparks that have suggested Ricciardo has eradicated the negative tendencies that saw him become a shadow of his former self during his acrimonious McLaren period in 2021/22.
He produced a spectacular qualifying lap in Mexico upon his return from a metacarpal break that stalled his momentum in 2023 to beat Sergio Perez’s Red Bull to fourth place. Meanwhile, the Miami Grand Prix witnessed Ricciardo’s high point this season as he took an impressive fourth place in the Sprint race.
However, those results have transpired to be glimpses rather than acting as a springboard elevating him towards sustained greatness.
Ricciardo has managed to recover from a challenging start to the season, where he was at a loss to explain his margin to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in the nascent rounds.
The points picture between the two has not explained the entire RB intra-team picture. Tsunoda was able to bank points earlier in the campaign when the VCARB 01 was a competitive points-scoring car, whereas Ricciardo’s improvement has come as RB has endured setbacks with upgrades and dropped right down the pecking order, disguising his progress in tangible terms.
Nevertheless, the Singapore weekend – where encouraging practice pace led to bewilderment as he was eliminated in Q1 – encapsulated Ricciardo’s second F1 stint: promise that hasn’t had enough substance.
The ex-Red Bull racer hasn’t managed to be convincing on a consistent enough basis. He has operated around Tsunoda’s level, a benchmark that he was expected to beat.
Having two well-matched drivers in the same team would represent a dream elsewhere on the F1 grid. However, even with the team’s rebrand over the winter, RB is a unique entity as Red Bull’s sister team remains a developing ground to assess whether drivers are prepared to step up to a seat with the reigning F1 Constructors’ World Champions.
Tsunoda’s perceptible development this season landed him a contract renewal earlier than he has ever received one, but Red Bull continues to be unenamoured with promoting him despite his strong showings.
Given that Tsunoda has been overlooked, it would have been bizarre to decide that Ricciardo, who has amassed 10 fewer points than his team-mate and qualified behind 12 times in 18 races, merited a Red Bull drive.
It speaks volumes that Red Bull hasn’t been sold on Ricciardo despite Perez’s wretched campaign in the second Red Bull and Horner’s admission that the Perth-born driver was their “banker” option in case it elected to part with the struggling Mexican’s services.
Red Bull’s gamble to bring Ricciardo back was one worth taking, but he hasn’t done enough this season to prove that he would be a guaranteed ceiling-raiser over Perez.
Ricciardo has had 26 races dating back to his comeback with the Faenza-based squad at the Hungarian Grand Prix last July, more than enough time to assess his capabilities. As Horner mentioned, Red Bull has “all the data” that it requires on Ricciardo’s driving, and the six remaining races this season would not have done much to change that.
With that in mind and the team possessing another name in its stable who could be the solution to its long-standing second driver conundrum, Red Bull has little to lose by making a switch before the season is out.
Lawson impressed when he was given an unexpected five-race run last season when Ricciardo was sidelined, excelling in Singapore to beat both Red Bull drivers to Q3 and then repelling race-long pressure in gruelling conditions to log his maiden points.
The New Zealander had the right to be aggrieved that his interim run in the car didn’t deliver him a permanent seat in F1. However, Ricciardo’s pain will once again be Lawson’s gain as he has six complete rounds now to stake his claim to end up on the 2025 roster.
Providing he replicates what he managed in his last stand-in spell, Lawson looks set to partner Tsunoda again at RB next season. However, hitting the ground running could put him in a good position to be the long-term partner to Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
With a three-week break prior to the next round in Austin, the timing makes sense. But although the outcome that has materialised is the logical one, Red Bull’s management has left a lot to be desired with how it has handled the elongated situation.
Ricciardo receiving adulation both in the paddock and on social media on Sunday night was well-deserved, but his achievements and status as a modern cult hero demanded a more fitting farewell tour.
Instead, he departed Singapore with his position under a cloud and Red Bull doing nothing to stop the speculation circulating.
Even his own team appeared in the lurch over what was going to happen, with RB boss Laurent Mekies writing in the press release that it decided to hand Ricciardo the tools to bag the fastest lap in Singapore “given that it could be Daniel’s final race”.
Mekies has since admitted that Red Bull’s openness on mid-season driver changes could have been detrimental to the drivers.
READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo responds to immediate F1 RB exit
The strain on Ricciardo was clear-cut in Singapore. His quip post-qualifying that he might go and “drown in my ice bath” was taken at face value as Ricciardo’s ‘banter.’ However, it was a damning indictment of the pressure that he was battling last weekend.
There was clear emotion, too, when he was speaking post-race, but there also appeared a sense of relief that it was over. Barring the most remarkable U-turn – and it can’t be ruled out based on this season’s events – Ricciardo’s F1 career looks set to end at 257 Grand Prix starts, eight race victories, 32 podium finishes and three pole positions.
Ricciardo has all but ruled out seeking an alternative place on the grid as he endeavours to close this latest chapter. But while his tale has not ended with the dream that he envisaged, Ricciardo can be at peace with a career that many drivers would envy.
