Daniel Ricciardo might’ve driven his last F1 race in Singapore. It has become an open secret and the Aussie faced multiple awkward questions about his future the entire weekend. The Race’s F1 expert Scott Mitchell-Malm has revealed the reason behind such a tough and sudden decision toward the 35-year-old’s fate in F1.
In The Race’s YouTube video, Mitchell-Malm highlighted this could be the only period in which Red Bull could vet Liam Lawson, who’s expected to replace Ricciardo at VCARB in 2025. So, despite decently average performances and no issues of the level that saw Logan Sargeant kicked out, the Austrian outfit has decided to replace the Honey Badger mid-season.
He explained, “It’s about a bigger Red Bull picture and relates to the wider uncertainty and confusion that has undermined its driver choices in recent years.”
“It’s believed that Red Bull sees this as a way to evaluate Lawson for more than an RB seat in 2025, like replacing Perez at Red Bull Racing.”, he added.
Lawson has already proved his talents with a strong showing when he substituted Ricciardo in five races in 2023. The New Zealander even scored points in Singapore, proving his candidacy for a full-time seat. So, the Faenza outfit could have given him a seat for 2025 rather than bringing him in now. This just adds to the ongoing confusion at Red Bull on who’s worthy enough of a drive.
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An emotional weekend for RicciardoPlenty of talking points on today’s episode of The Race #F1 Podcast.
Listen here ➡️ https://t.co/OmMTfmqzry pic.twitter.com/YRInWpsnKu
— The Race (@wearetherace) September 23, 2024
Before the summer break, it was almost certain Sergio Perez would be axed by the Austrian outfit. However, Liberty Media’s rumored interference gave him a second lease on his F1 life. The possible repercussion of it seems to be Ricciardo getting the boot. Despite the title defense falling apart, the driver lineup situation at Red Bull seems to be changing every week.
Max Verstappen is also unhappy with the car and their performance. So, Red Bull is currently putting out fires left, right, and center. As for Ricciardo, it seems to be an abrupt end, as was evident during his emotional post-race interview in Singapore.
