“Nobody’s Giving Daniel Ricciardo a Straight Answer”: Ted Kravitz

As F1 heads into the Singapore GP, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding Daniel Ricciardo’s future. There have been rumors swirling around his ousting from VCARB, with the Singapore GP being the deadline. However, Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz has revealed there isn’t any clarity on the matter, especially to the Australian.

In the latest episode of Ted’s Notebook, he said, “Let’s move to RB and the curious case, well the sad case really of Daniel Ricciardo who looks like we’re saying goodbye to in Formula 1. But no one’s giving Daniel Ricciardo a straight answer whether he should be celebrating or commemorating because this might be his last qualifying today in F1 ever. It might be his last race in F1 ever.“

BBC’s Rosanna Tennant also revealed an incident that highlighted the ambiguity of the situation surrounding the VCARB man. As seen on Reddit, she revealed she saw the 35-year-old walking around with a grin around the paddock. When quizzed by Tennant he confessed it’s a fake smile. Ricciardo also just said “we’ll see” when she asked if this would be his last qualifying ever.

Rosanna Tennant on Ricciardo for BBC
byu/jovanmilic97 informula1

So, either the Australian really does not know what his future holds or is pretending to not know. Although, if true, it’s a sad end to Ricciardo’s illustrious F1 career. However, all signs point toward it being true and the Honey Badger is an easy target given his recent sub-par performances.

How Ricciardo has fallen from grace in his Red Bull family return

The Australian has not managed to put up a consistent enough run to convince the bosses of his skills. He’s been inconsistent and overshadowed by his teammate throughout his short VCARB stint. He currently has half as many points as Yuki Tsunoda in the championship standings.

Moreover, VCARB now desperately needs to score points in the last seven races of the season, currently being sixth in the championship with 34 points. They are under threat from Haas with the American outfit just five points behind them. Haas can reduce this deficit in Singapore. So, defending their championship position may be a primary motivation for the Faenza-based outfit to replace Ricciardo with Liam Lawson.

However, with history as proof, the Aussie is capable of delivering incredible results at tracks like Austin and Mexico. Still, what Lawson did last year as Ricciardo’s substitute may be more appealing to the Faenza outfit. So, a return that was meant to be a coveted return to Red Bull has turned into an underwhelming disappointing chapter for the eight-time race winner.