Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career, which spanned 15 seasons and included eight grand prix victories, deserved a more fitting end that the one which transpired in Singapore.
But his RB team has now indicated he won’t return to the cockpit for the next race. Making the circumstances all the more poignant, F1 is heading to Austin next, a venue the charming and enormously popular driver has developed a deep affinity for.Ricciardo arrived in Singapore facing fresh questions over his future. To begin with, RB admitted to no more than their intention to review the performance of their drivers following this weekend’s race.
But following the grand prix came an unmistakeable change of tone. RB team principal Laurent Mekies claimed in the team’s press release that they allowed Ricciardo to make an extra pit stop and push to set the fastest lap because “this may have been Daniel’s last race.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, however, was grateful for the efforts of their second team’s driver. Of course neither Red Bull nor RB admitted any connection between the two.
But whatever the true motivation behind Ricciardo’s fastest lap bid, it produced a moment rich in symbolism. Horner and Brown are both former employers of Ricciardo, and what successes might they have enjoyed together had his career taken a different course?
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Ricciardo lingered in the cockpit of his RB 01 after taking the chequered flag, sitting quietly in the darkness before emerging to face the inevitable questions. Including, once again, the most inevitable of them all: Did he make a mistake by leaving Red Bull six years earlier?
“I’m okay with that. It’s one of those ones, also, there’s no guarantee that if I stayed I would have done amazing and won this and that. So you never know. But of course I’m not going to stand here and say that was the greatest decision of my life.
“But you live and you learn and obviously it eventually brought me back into the family and I don’t want to look back and be kind of sad or bitter about anything. Everything, I guess, happens for a reason.”
Ricciardo made his career-defining decision to leave Red Bull in mid-2018. They had brought him into Formula 1 and made him a race winner, but facing a rising challenge of Max Verstappen in the other car, Ricciardo decided a better chance of success lay at Renault.
Six years on, no one can convincingly argue Ricciardo was wrong to identify Verstappen as a threat. Now a three-times world champion, Verstappen has thrashed every driver who has occupied that seat since Ricciardo: First Pierre Gasly, then Alexander Albon and now Sergio Perez.
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Whether Ricciardo might have done better compared to them is something we’ll never know. Horner certainly reckoned Ricciardo had lost little of his pace when he returned to test for Red Bull last year. But he has only showed frustratingly brief glimpses of that kind of performance since then – and that ended his hopes of regaining his race seat at Red Bull.
This proved a smart choice of team. Three years later, McLaren are leading the constructors’ championship and have a chance of taking one of their drivers to the title too.
But Ricciardo, of course, is long gone. Despite his surprise victory at Monza in 2021, he was persistently shown up by Lando Norris, and McLaren cut his three-year contract short after just two seasons.
Red Bull and McLaren were the two great missed opportunities of Ricciardo’s career. Had things played out differently he could have been driving either of their race-winning, championship-leading cars on Sunday.
So it was deeply ironic that he should find himself playing what might even turn out to be a championship-deciding role for his two former team mates. By denying Norris the fastest lap point, Ricciardo has ensured Verstappen can finish second to his rival in all the remaining races and still win the title.
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There is much more racing to be done before we learn whether that was a decisive moment. But sadly not, it seems, for Ricciardo.
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2024 Singapore Grand Prix
- Ricciardo’s brake woe and why Perez thought he had an engine problem: Singapore GP radio
- ‘Perez is only quicker when he has DRS’: How Hulkenberg’s Haas beat a Red Bull – again
- Mercedes explain “clear mistake” strategy call which left Hamilton “so angry”
- “Sometimes I wonder why I do this”: How Hamilton endured a slog to sixth in Singapore
- F1’s rules need surgery as well as sticking plaster after fastest lap controversy
Valandil (@valandil)
23rd September 2024, 13:39
What has Ricciardo ever done to deserve the reputation as top driver? He managed to beat Vettel in his early days at Red Bull, well done. After that, Max was better than him, he failed at Renault, he failed at McLaren and he failed at RB.
I will never understand everyones opinion of him and why he has stuck around for so long. Nothing personally against him at all, but good riddance.
Hopefully the rest of the grid wakes up soon and culls the other has-beens in the field that the likes of Colapinto and Bearman etc are showing up…
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
23rd September 2024, 14:19
Well I don’t think Daniel had a reputation as a ‘top driver’. Good maybe with a lot of potential it was thought. I would also suggest you look up the number of decent drivers who have 8 or less victories in their career. You might find some surprising names. It might go back too far for you though. A few world champions even.
Of the current field, Carlos Sainz has 3. Sergio Perez has 6. Others have less of course but will no doubt gain more.
Valandil (@valandil)
23rd September 2024, 14:28
I think a lot of people bang on about him like he is a top driver – maybe not in the last year or two tbf, but it has taken people waaay to long to realise that.
Not sure what number of wins has to do with anything though tbh. Bottas has 10 wins…
David BR (@david-br)
23rd September 2024, 14:58
Verstappen was better than Ricciardo at Red Bull but not always (indeed Max isn’t always better than Pérez) and not by as much as later team mates. But then Max is a phenomenon. I can remember him in his first season taking one particular corner with other drivers around and simply going around faster than everyone, the angle, car balance and control was just another level. The same impression I had seeing Hamilton in his first season. But compared to drivers other than them, Ricciardo was up there and had a superb passing technique. How he lost that level is another story, maybe a question of the car not suiting him, suddenly being the lead driver for the team, his own doubts about the move away from RBR. Who knows.
Dude
23rd September 2024, 14:24
I think he was keeping up with Max before and then in 2018 until he got the hump with perceived favouritism and decided to switch. However, Max was still improving a lot then so we’ll never know how he’d have fared come ’19 and beyond.
His cause was always helped by his infectious enthusiasm and positive attitude.. I think thats largely disappeared through the sad McLaren days though.
ben
23rd September 2024, 14:26
While quite a harsh take, it’s actually very hard to disagree with.
10 years ago I’d have said Ricciardo could be WDC and I think many people would have agreed with that. His time at Renault was ok relative to his team mates, however he was embarrassed at McLaren and ultimately RB too. A former multiple race winner should easily have the upper hand over Yuki.
A sad way to go out was performing once more as the loyal lap dog to the RedBull masters. Trying to claim some glory in Verstappens championship was just embarrassing. If he wins by 1 point it’ll be because of the 300+ points he’s scored himself.
The reaction from multiple drivers to Colapinto yesterday shows how stale the grid has become. It’s almost like they don’t want to even race any more. They seem so used to moving out of the way of a faster car, driving around saving tyres that they’ve all lost their edge. Both Sainz and Albon complaining about a fantastic first lap move was actually quite sad to see.
Perez, Stroll, Albon and possibly Sainz should all move on.
Valandil (@valandil)
23rd September 2024, 14:33
Yes I thought the reaction to Colapinto was extremely telling!
Personally I still think Sainz has it, but I would move Zhou, Magnussen (on his way out ofc) and Yuki on as well at least.
Pon
23rd September 2024, 15:26
Crashing in Q3 means Sainz still has it? lmao
dot_com (@dot_com)
23rd September 2024, 16:42
Plenty of good drivers have crashed in qualifying.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:44
Sainz if anything doesn’t deserve to go to a bad team like williams given the performance level shown this season.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
24th September 2024, 3:45
@Pon.
How I so desperately hate these manipulative and condescending responses.
No one implied any link such as that you have stated. There is likely not one driver in history that one could not find something to hold negatively against them. And it is blatantly clear that the poster was suggesting Sainz overall current performance (highs and lows) are what is demonstrating he still has it.
I don’t have an issue if you disagree, but please don’t put people down with such childish reasoning.
Alex Peak
23rd September 2024, 16:08
Agree with Magnussen and Zhou since they’re both leaving anyway but I’d also throw the hopeless Stroll in (stop riding the coattails of your deluded father’s finances) along with Bottas there as he seems complicit and unmotivated these days even if the Sauber is terrible. That team is stuck where it is if they don’t get young talent next year and Hulkenberg can only do so much.
David BR (@david-br)
23rd September 2024, 14:50
Sainz is harsh, Stroll won’t ever retire (into his 40s maybe?!) unless Stroll Sr decides Alonso and Verstappen in the same team is just too unmissable (though I think Alonso would opt out of that battle), Albon did himself no favours complaining but I think he deserves a place on the grid, Pérez, the less said the better.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
23rd September 2024, 15:09
@valandil, Ricciardo was the number one driver ranked by Racefans in 2014:
https://www.racefans.net/2014/12/18/2014-f1-driver-rankings-1-daniel-ricciardo/
Also in the succeeding years, he was the lead Red Bull driver until Verstappen came along, and even though Max gained the upper hand, Daniel ran him respectably close, especially considering the complete whitewash Max has inflicted on his team mates since.
Ricciardo’s years at Renault were not a failure, either. He may have been a little inconsistent compared to his best years, but he still ended (at that time, at least) Hulkenberg’s career, who many currently rate pretty highly (again).
Ricciardo’s years at McLaren were completely baffling to me, however, and although his RB stint was slightly better, one strong Miami sprint qualifying and sprint race and a handful of decent performances were not enough, understandably, to convince Red Bull management. Was he ever a top driver? I never pegged him as being as consistently fast as Alonso, Hamilton, or Verstappen, but at the time he looked like the next best thing.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
23rd September 2024, 15:45
A very fair analysis I think.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:48
Indeed, I don’t understand why so many people agree with a comment that calls each year after red bull a failure for ricciardo, it’s like the person didn’t even watch the renault years, or had unreasonable expectations, a renault was never gonna go as fast as a red bull, so lower results were expected.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
23rd September 2024, 23:46
@esploratore1 People have short memories and tend to rewrite history, but in 2020 I think Ricciardo was rated 4th on Racefans rankings, and that was hardly an outlier ranking. Most considered him a consistent top 5ish driver since 2014 when he stepped into Redbull and beat the 4 time back-to-back reigning drivers champion fairly comprehensively.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:49
And yes, I also thought he was right below the top drivers back in 2018.
Davethechicken
23rd September 2024, 17:51
I would argue the facts don’t fit that Daniel was inferior to Max at Red Bull. He beat Max in points, poles, race wins over almost 3 full seasons (Max joining RBR after race 4 out of 21 in 2016.
The one year Max finished ahead of Dan was 2018, but Dan had unbelievably bad reliability that year. He was beating Max again until after Baku coincidentally when he announced he was leaving RBR.
He had 8 DNFs in 2018 to Max’s 4, one of those of course was the infamous Baku accident, widely felt to be Max’s fault.
Riccardo also, almost every single race weekend after Spain had technical failures in his car, running B spec engines with less horse power and had 4 races he started back of the grid due to technical failures.
To claim Max “outperformed him” at red bull including 2018 is simply distorting what actually happened.
He absolutely was considered a top driver at that time and was touted by many, including “the Brits” as a future WDC.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:51
There’s no doubt he could’ve won a WDC, he was unlucky in that he joined red bull just as it got worse, and then even if he had stayed (as I personally think he should’ve done, I thought that even in 2018), he still wouldn’t have won a title due to facing the best driver of the post schumacher era.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
24th September 2024, 3:40
I think this is the key point. Looking back, it seems absurd that he would choose to leave Red Bull. But his reasoning at the time was surely that he knew he couldn’t win a championship with Max and so going anywhere else kept that dream alive. By 2023 that dream had died and getting back to RBR to have a chance at race victories again would have been a great way to close out his career. It’s sad that it’s ending mid-season in the B team. Had he stayed in 2019, I think he’d be close to 20 wins by now and remembered as one of the best drivers never to win a championship. As it is, I think he’ll be remembered as a good driver but not a great one.
Davethechicken
24th September 2024, 8:20
I think also that the switch at RBR to Honda, for 2019, was a factor. Renault offered big bucks and big promises. Honda had been a big flop with McLaren and didn’t appear to be likely to be good anytime soon.
Of course it didn’t pan out that way.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
23rd September 2024, 19:59
Turn the clock back to 2016 and I think you’ll find everyone rated Daniel incredibly highly. His career veered off after 2018 but he was definitely up there until then. His stats aren’t stronger because he happened to race at Red Bull during the incredible dominance of Mercedes, who left little chance for everyone else to win races or score poles.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:38
Verstappen wasn’t plain better than ricciardo, he was always faster, but ricciardo was a safer pair of hands, as in a better point scorer, you can see early verstappen like senna and ricciardo like prost, which is better in a championship, then in 2018 verstappen probably reached his peak and ricciardo could no longer keep up, also had terrible reliability that season, but so did verstappen in 2017.
Edvaldo
23rd September 2024, 22:01
They had similar reliability in 2017. First half Max was breaking everywhere, second half, was Ricciardo’s turn, who should’ve finished that season ahead of Raikkonen in a much inferior car, but the thing failed him again in the last race.
Then Ricciardo won 2 races in the first six the next season but then couldn’t finish even in the top 3 anymore, with the car failing him most saturdays, sundays, and sometimes both, while Max’s had far fewer issues.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:38
Also ricciardo didn’t fail at renault, did well enough; toro rosso was meh, certainly not the driver we’ve seen before and he was terrible at mclaren.
José Lopes da Silva
24th September 2024, 9:53
Valandil’s and ben’s views about Ricciardo’s time at Renault may be evidence of one of those Motorsport rules: the driver is just as good as his last race. Otherwise, even strong performances can be forgotten with some speed.
How would one rate Jacques Villeneuve’s 2000 season, and it’s overall weight regarding his career?
Chris
24th September 2024, 10:25
This is a terrible take, he took 8 wins in a car that was definetly second or third best to the Ferrari’s and Mercs of that era. The likes of Sains, Russell, Piastri and even Norris still have their work cut out for them to get anywhere near 8 victories before their time in the sport is up.
He should have buggered off a couple of years ago, it’s plain that he struggled to adapt his driving style but to say he has done nothing to justify his position as a top flight driver speaks of someone who has no idea of the sport and should maybe read a few things before commenting more.
Talby (@maichael)
24th September 2024, 12:33
People have short memories.
https://www.racefans.net/2016/12/16/2016-f1-season-driver-rankings-1-ricciardo/
Dane
25th September 2024, 0:48
Ricciardo is a spent force, but 2014-2018 we was generally good and sometimes great. In early 2018 I remember after Monaco wondering if Ricciardo would end up better than the hyped up Verstappen (laughable to think back on now). Even at Renault he did well to get their first podiums in ages. If he didn’t lose his mojo at McLaren he might be fighting for the title instead of Lando.
Stoo (@stewart51)
27th September 2024, 14:53
+1, maybe it’s simply that horsey smile and podium antics that made him so popular while he had the best car on the grid, because Vettel and Verstappen and Norris as a new rookie made him look like an amateur paying for the drive.
Red Bull told everyone that his lap times were equal to MV’s when he had that test drive for them after being let go from McLaren (not sure where it was), but the lap times never seemed to be published, just that DR was as fast as he’d ever been before and after a short time at the Sister Team he’d be a shoe in for the second seat at RB when it became available – BUT ! That superb DR pace never materialised – there’s a surprise.
David BR (@david-br)
23rd September 2024, 14:25
A nice write-up. Ricciardo at his peak had a distinctive late-braking racing style and fitting persona (the smiling assassin, the honey badger etc.). The nimble Red Bull really suited those moves. His skirmish with Verstappen at Baku and the intra-team repercussions were probably pivotal to his feeling the team was no longer for him. Wish him well in whatever he does next.
Edvaldo
23rd September 2024, 14:58
He got too old for his previous persona and the results vanished. Red Bull brought him back thinking about giving him his seat back on the main team, he and Max were a great pairing, but they couldn’t replace Perez with a driver whose contract was cut short due to lack of performance.
They expected him to show the way to Tsunoda, which Gasly often did, and he completely failed. Lawson has been waiting for a year, he’ll probably do better than Ricciardo as soon as he gets in the car, so what’s the point in keeping Ricciardo? It’s harsh but it is how it is.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 21:54
Yes, good point, if you think about it, gasly himself failed at red bull, so ricciardo had to, at the very least, beat tsunoda by the same margin; even accounting for the fact tsunoda might have improved since then, ricciardo wasn’t even able to match him.
José Lopes da Silva
23rd September 2024, 15:03
Daniel Ricciardo is among what we could consider the Accomplished Drivers that performed in F1 for 10 seasons or more. This does not include Fangio because of World War 2, and includes Andrea de Cesaris, but it is notwithstanding a measure of quality (De Cesaris is perhaps the worst of 10+ seasons F1 drivers).
The road to the Championship is incredibly difficult and that’s part of the game. You can be an All-Time Great but for some reason end up with “only” two titles, like Clark and Alonso. You can perform very well without being an All-Time Great, yet still need that luck that comes with a mechanical team sport to get there, like Button.
Ricciardo trounced Vettel but the fateful thing is that he found an All-Time Great in the way. That happens to many drivers. Johhny Dumfries found one in 1986; so did Keke Rosberg. Heikki Kovalainen also found one in 2008.
History changes the way we aprreciate drivers. Right now, Logan Sargeant’s records is getting beaten even if he is no more around. Sebastian Vettel, for all his talent, became somehow dimished by the way he somehow cracked under pressure, like it happened not only in 2014 but especially between 2017 and 2020. The fact that Leclerc was also able to rout Vettel from a number one position somehow lowers Ricciardo’s feat value.
He did not fail at Renault – quite the opposite, he sent Hulkenberg into early retirement, from which the German performed an heroic recovery. But the way Ricciardo failed at McLaren remains among the most confounding performances of an experienced F1 driver – and I’m still to find out a decent explanation, like the one that says that Raikkonen never fully adapted to the tyre monopoly from 2007 onwards (Raikkonen’s title season was poorer than most or all of his McLaren seasons).
However, of course Ricciardo can be proud of what he achieved. He is a solid Grand Prix winner, a great F1 Name of the 2010’s, and he will be ranked in the upper echelons of F1 lore. But by now, having failed the fight to Tsunoda, there’s really no decente future. We hope to see him in other Racing tracks for many years!
@denn (@denn)
23rd September 2024, 18:04
well said!
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
23rd September 2024, 19:36
+2
MichaelN
23rd September 2024, 20:05
That’s not so much a fact as a nice illustration that it’s incredibly difficult to tell how good a driver is doing in isolation.
Leclerc and Vettel were a fantastic line-up in 2019, and both won multiple races (yes, that one too). It would have been great to see that play out over multiple seasons, as it was very close and the dynamic was interesting.
But Vettel was very much Marchionne’s man, as was Arrivabene. So after Marchionne’s passing, and the Binotto coup to claim leadership of the whole team, he wanted to get Vettel out and replace him with one of his own, namely Sainz.
Once that was announced, in early 2020, for “some weird reason”, Vettel had a very bad season.
How much of that was on him? Who knows. But let’s not overlook that he put that very mediocre Aston Martin (arguably even worse than it is now) on the podium not once but twice, and was a contender for the race win in Hungary where Ocon eventually won.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 22:03
That race in hungary was a slaughter, almost all drivers in the top cars were out or made a strategic blunder; as ocon won in a renault I think it could be quite expected for an aston martin to be up there.
Having said that, vettel was definitely decent in aston, but surely some people were expecting more from a top driver, for example completely demolishing stroll, which he didn’t do.
José Lopes da Silva
23rd September 2024, 22:52
“But Vettel was very much Marchionne’s man, as was Arrivabene. So after Marchionne’s passing, and the Binotto coup to claim leadership of the whole team, he wanted to get Vettel out and replace him”
These are solid arguments, regarding Vettel’s driving abilities. I can agree with them and should be considered.
However, when we think of an All-Time Great (and I really think Vettel is one of them), we think of drivers so Great that do not get dependent of outside factors like Vettel apparently was in late-stage Ferrari. Because, thanks to their speed, consistency, personality, work capacity, leadership skills, and results, they become immune to it.
Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher (and Juan Manuel Fangio, too) were never “some director’s favourite”. They were just the Leader.
Alain Prost was the Leader at McLaren. Right or wrong, he felt that he lost Honda to Senna. So he went elsewhere, to become the Leader at Ferrari – until Suzuka 91, at least.
And Max Verstappen become the Leader at Red Bull (hence the reason why I don’t have in high regard those people who believe Max became the Leader because Jos Verstappen has magical powers or compromising photos.)
José Lopes da Silva
24th September 2024, 9:55
“Ricciardo trounced Vettel but the fateful thing is that he found *ANOTHER All-Time Great in the way”, this is what I meant.
Alberto
23rd September 2024, 15:12
There have been many drivers who have been less than spectacular compared to Ricciardo and had longer careers in F1. In fact, I think many people are sad that he is leaving perhaps because there are worse drivers on the grid today who don’t deserve to be on the grid as much as Ricciardo.
The problem is he cornered himself into being the oldest driver in a team where they expect a lot from far younger drivers. Red bull’s second team has always been the toughest seat to retain and killed many decent drivers careers. Therefore I am afraid it is time for him to retire. Had he stayed out of Redbull and found his latest form, mediocre as it was I think he could have stuck around maybe another year or more.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 22:07
But the most significant difference he could’ve made would’ve been performing as it could be expected from his previous career at mclaren: had he done that, now he would be like piastri, not as fast as norris but in for chances of race wins and maybe an outside chance for the championship if the car is good since the start next year.
M2X
23rd September 2024, 17:13
You don’t need a formal conspiracy when interests converge.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
23rd September 2024, 17:37
I’m glad his run in F1 is finally over. The last 5 years have been an embarrassment of his own making. I was sad to hear he was coming back and taking Liam Lawson’s seat and I’m happy to see him give it back. I’m not sure what’s going on at Red Bull to keep these questionable drivers for such a long time.
Edvaldo
23rd September 2024, 17:45
He was still good at Renault. If he wasn’t he would never get a deal, and a very good one, at Mclaren.
There he was subpar the first year and a complete disaster in the second, and that’s the level he is today.
With so many younger and cheaper drivers eager to debut and show they’re ready, there’s no case to be made in his defense.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd September 2024, 22:09
Indeed, it’s annoying that people keep including the renault years as a failure, he was around the top 3 drivers in 2020.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
23rd September 2024, 17:40
If you read the other article on here after my comment there plenty have jumped to his defence.
Peter Barton
23rd September 2024, 23:47
I also don’t understand how people consider the Renault years a failure. As a couple of people have remembered, he effectively ended Hulkenbergs career, and only Lance and Sergio getting Covid gave him a chance to impress as a full in. He also outperformed Ocon the following year. Yes, he fully underperformed expectations while at McLaren, specially given that they paid top dollar for someone they thought was going to continued as a top talent. Inconsistency has blighted his time at RB, he has often outperformed Yuki when the car wasn’t capable of points, but hurt himself with a poor qualifying when the car was more capable. I understand RB wanting to test Lawson for a block of races, but to say Daniel was always mediocre is a bunch of malarkey
Riker (@corsair)
24th September 2024, 3:18
While probably true… source?
Elvira
24th September 2024, 7:20
I think Ric’s failing has always been his conservativeness – I don’t recall him putting the car into the wall, grass, gravel often enough to have been consistently searching for the outer limits of traction and transit velocity. The area he was definitely not conservative in – straight line braking was enough to differentiate him from the field and, in a fast enough car, to get him victories.
When he was beaten by Max it was because Max was OK with destroying a car (or two at once) if that’s what it took and Ric was most certainly not. Contrast how often more desperate drivers like Chuck (for ultimate laptime), Sainz (to keep up) or Albon (for Saturday exceptionalism) leave their components and marks in the barriers.