Ever since the 2024 Singapore GP concluded, speculation had been mounting about Daniel Ricciardo’s future in F1. The #3 driver was touted to be dropped by RB mid-season with the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit dubbed as his last in the sport. Now, the team has officially confirmed his departure.
The announcement about Ricciardo‘s mid-season sacking came through the Faenza-based team’s X (formerly Twitter) account. Team principal Laurent Mekies issued a statement, wherein he thanked the Australian racing driver for his services. Mekies was quoted as saying,
“He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.”
Thank you Daniel
⁰Laurent Mekies on Daniel: “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.”#F1 #VCARB pic.twitter.com/cqKrbFAehU— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) September 26, 2024
Only moments after confirming Ricciardo’s departure, the team also announced his successor. The build-up to the Singapore GP strongly suggested that Red Bull were looking to promote their reserve driver Liam Lawson to the sport before a full-time seat with RB from 2025 onwards.
This has now been confirmed by the team, with the 22-year-old set to partner with Yuki Tsunoda from the 2024 US GP onwards. Ricciardo has himself come on record after the news and gave his statement on the decision to replace him mid-season.
Ricciardo’s emotional goodbye to F1
Ricciardo has now made peace with the fact that his time in the sport may have come to an end. After RB’s announcement, the 35-year-old came onto his Instagram account to share his thoughts with his fans. He wrote,
“I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey. To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you. It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure.”
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Ricciardo’s statement seems to confirm that he will not be vying for a seat in the sport anytime soon. With the 2024 silly season wrapping up, only Sauber/Audi have a vacant seat left but reports suggest that the Honey Badger is not in contention to join the Hinwil-based outfit.
