Reports suggest that the 2024 Singapore GP was Daniel Ricciardo’s last F1 race. Red Bull are reportedly looking to replace the Australian with Liam Lawson at Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) mid-season. Amid this, Ricciardo’s girlfriend Heidi Berger celebrated the #3 driver’s final accolade as an F1 driver.
Although Ricciardo only managed to finish the Grand Prix in P18, he was voted by the fans as the Driver of the Day [DOTD] as he got 20.1% of the fans’ vote. The Australian’s fans celebrated his illustrious 13-year-long F1 career with one final hurray.
And his girlfriend joined in with them to share his achievement on her social media. She came onto her Instagram account to repost F1’s DOTD post for Ricciardo on her stories.
Heidi Berger joins in with the fans to celebrate Daniel Ricciardo’s final hurray in Formula 1! #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/zB79FOaOuU
— Anirban Aly Mandal (@AnirbanF1) September 22, 2024
Despite finishing the race a lap down in 18th, Ricciardo still bowed out in style. In what could be his final Grand Prix, the Honey Badger snatched away the fastest lap from race-winner Norris on the very last lap of the race.
Back in the paddock, Ricciardo was met with a guard of honor outside the VCARB motorhome. All the signs hint at Red Bull communicating their decision to drop the Australian soon.
Ricciardo acknowledges his fans’ love with DOTD confession
After the race, Ricciardo explained that normally the Driver of the Day award doesn’t mean much to him. However, he conceded that he knew this one had a lot of fans’ sentiments behind it and he appreciated their love and support.
He was quoted as saying, “Typically the driver of the day is not something us drivers look too much into, but today I can say it’s something I’m appreciative of. That one today means a little something.”
Danny Ric ❤️
An emotional Daniel Ricciardo speaks after the #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/53hD09HZ4z
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024
Red Bull junior Lawson is the favorite to replace Ricciardo from Austin onwards. The Kiwi made his F1 debut last year, filling in for an injured Ricciardo. In the handful of races that he did participate in, he impressed the paddock and the Red Bull hierarchy.
Team advisor Helmut Marko even confirmed that Lawson will drive for the team in 2025. Therefore, it seems that Red Bull want to give the 22-year-old a taste of contemporary F1 machinery for the last six races of the 2024 season before his full-time debut next year.
