In the build-up to the 2024 Singapore GP, speculation was mounting about Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career. After the Grand Prix, it seems like Red Bull is ready to sack the 35-year-old from the Austin GP onwards.
While no official announcement has been made yet by either party, Ricciardo himself dropped a major hint about his future during the post-race media session. The Honey Badger admitted that he has made peace with the fact that Singapore might have been his final F1 race.
After getting the axe at McLaren in 2022, Ricciardo was signed up by Red Bull for their junior team AlphaTauri (now VCARB) mid-season in 2023. The idea was to see if they could promote him back to Red Bull. Ricciardo had expressed his desire to race for the Milton-Keynes-based team again as well, calling it a “fairytale ending”.
Danny Ric ❤️
An emotional Daniel Ricciardo speaks after the #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/53hD09HZ4z
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024
After the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the #3 driver admitted that maybe he wasn’t getting his fairytale ending after all. He said, “I put my best foot forward, let’s say the fairytale ending didn’t happen but I also have to look back on what it’s been.”
Despite this, he conceded that he had made peace with that fact. “I have to be prepared for this maybe being it. Let’s say I’m at peace with it,” he concluded.
Warning signs that Ricciardo has raced his last F1 Grand Prix at Singapore
Throughout the weekend, there has been a lot of talk about Ricciardo’s departure from the sport mid-way this season. However, the most ominous signs came after the Grand Prix had concluded.
Ricciardo took an extra bit longer in the cockpit of his VCARB car after the race — something he hadn’t done before. He explained later that he just wanted to savor the moment after racing in F1 for 13 years.
He received a guard of honor from guests outside the VCARB hospitality center. ESPN’s Nate Saunders took to X (formerly Twitter) to suggest that this could be a signing-off gesture from the team.
Guests form a guard of honour at RB for Ricciardo as he comes back – no confirmation it’s his last race but every indication is that’s the case. If so, he signed off with a fastest lap pic.twitter.com/ACjJXpVO1y
— Nate Saunders (@natesaundersF1) September 22, 2024
His fans also sensed Red Bull’s impending decision. As a result, the fans decided to vote for him as the Driver of the Day. He even bagged the fastest lap of the race on the very last lap of the 62-lap Grand Prix.
