RB has revealed that the decision not to communicate Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 exit prior to his last appearance in Singapore derived from the driver’s own choice.
Ricciardo went into the race weekend at the Marina Bay Circuit back in September being bombarded with questions surrounding his short-term prospects in the sport.
The rumours increased throughout the weekend to the point where a resigned Ricciardo made the admission post-race that there was a chance it was his final outing.
However, the Red Bull-owned RB side waited until the next week to announce that Liam Lawson would be replacing Ricciardo across the remaining six events in 2024.
But while the Faenza-based squad received huge backlash over how the departure was handled, RB CEO Peter Bayer has divulged that it adhered to Ricciardo’s desire.
“We had agreed with Daniel that we would not communicate it,” Bayer told Auto Motor und Sport.
“We knew that we would look a bit outdated as a team. But we also did it to protect the driver. It was his wish.”
Bayer has admitted that Ricciardo remained convinced that he would turn around his fortunes even as he hopped into the VCARB 01 to begin qualifying that weekend.
“He believed right to the end that he would finish at the front in qualifying and show everyone,” he disclosed.
“I’ve never seen such mental strength in an athlete. And I’ve been in a lot of sports.”
Ricciardo’s ‘world collapsed’ with Q1 exit
However, the Australian was unable to repeat the positive pace he had shown in practice as an elimination in the opening Q1 session all but consigned him to his fate.
“It was a terrible moment when he exited in Q1,” Bayer recalled. “You could already hear on the radio that his world had collapsed.
“We then spoke to him again on Saturday. We sat together in our office at two o’clock in the morning and asked him what we should do now.
“He then told us that we should just let him drive the race. He just didn’t want any nonsense.”
RB wished to give Ricciardo proper farewell
Bayer has expressed that RB would’ve ensured that Ricciardo was handed the farewell an eight-time F1 race winner deserved had he made it to the end of the season.
“As a team, we put ourselves in front of him,” he said.
“If Daniel had driven all the way to Abu Dhabi, then of course we would have celebrated his farewell with fireworks and a photo on the grid, just like [Kimi] Raikkonen back then.
“That’s what everyone would have wanted.”
READ MORE – Liam Lawson reveals when he was told he would replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB
