“This is a Cutthroat Sport:” F1 Expert Explains if Daniel Ricciardo’s Exit Was Not Handled Well

Earlier this week, Red Bull announced that Daniel Ricciardo would be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the 2024 season. While many considered his dismissal harsh, F1 expert Tim Hauraney pointed out that the nature of motorsports is cutthroat.

In the Nailing the Apex podcast, Adam Wylde asked Hauraney whether Ricciardo should have gotten a better send-off. Almost immediately, Hauraney, a former racer himself, recalled how he exited open-wheel racing.

“I didn’t even finish it,” he said. “Technically, my last open-wheel racing memory? I didn’t even make it to the next race. Because we ran out of money.” 

“Our sponsor didn’t have enough… This is a cutthroat sport man. This is the way it is,” he added.

Hauraney added that motorsports had always been like this. The ruthless nature of dealing with drivers and their sacking had been a part of it long before he came into it, and will always remain. “Sometimes you don’t get those great sendoffs”, he added.

At the same time, the reason behind Ricciardo’s sacking remained a widely discussed topic. One thing, however, seems almost certain: Ricciardo won’t be part of the grid in 2025, which would be a huge loss for the F1 community.

No one could have fun quite like Ricciardo

Hauraney revealed that with F1 losing Ricciardo, they would be at a massive risk of losing sponsors. As per him, the Australian’s fun personality makes him an important commercial asset.

In the podcast, Wylde also mentioned that no F1 driver could have fun quite like Ricciardo did. “Daniel’s ability to relate to people, have fun with people was sort of second to none, he stated.

Ricciardo was a very popular figure within the paddock too, and was friends with almost the entire grid. When he put up a post thanking the teams and his fans for the opportunity in F1, several drivers and other entities from the sport commented, showing their love for the honey badger.

The doors may be closed for Ricciardo in 2025, but a twist of fate could still see him make a return to F1 in 2026, if luck is on his side.