His demeanour at the end of the Singapore GP – not to mention the rumours linking Liam Lawson with his seat – left F1 media in little doubt that the Marina Bay event could be Daniel Ricciardo’s final race.
But if that’s the case, is it fair or is Red Bull making the wrong decision?
Our writers offer their views.
His time in F1 is up – Ben Hunt
Sadly, despite being one for characters in Formula 1, I feel that it is time for Daniel Ricciardo to be demoted from RB in place of Liam Lawson and with immediate effect.
However, I will pick my words carefully, as while it looks as though this could be the end of his F1 career, it might not necessarily be as black and white as this being the end, for Sergio Perez is still in a precarious position.
I remember back to 2012 when I was in my first year covering F1 and it was a flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and Ricciardo was sitting in economy class a few rows back from my seat. He was the same back then as he is now, a brilliant personality. Great fun. Always smiling.
Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
But I cannot help but think his career took a turn for the worse the moment he decided to quit Red Bull and join Renault for the 2019 season.
It was an altogether baffling decision. Having been burned by Renault, he had further poor form at McLaren and despite that win in Monza in 2021, has never really looked like ever recapturing the same form he had at Red Bull or indeed living up to his massive potential.
The smile has now gone, and with it too the passion and maybe the commitment needed to seriously compete in F1.
He left F1 off the back of being let go by McLaren in place of Oscar Piastri, citing that he needed some time on the sidelines to assess his future.
He returned to the championship at the expense of Nyck de Vries but in truth, I never really believed it would spark much success for I am pushed to think of any truly great comeback from someone who once turned their back on F1.
I remember that season he left McLaren in 2022, as he assessed his future he rode into the paddock at the US GP in Austin on the back of a horse. To me, he had fully checked out from F1.
That was on his terms. Now the decision is not his to make.
It makes sense to bring in Lawson – Ewan Gale
If this is Ricciardo’s exit from F1, then the sport will for sure be a poorer place in terms of personality. His effervescent persona has lit up the paddock for well over a decade now.
But F1 is a results business and it is fair to say that other than his victory for McLaren at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, we haven’t seen the best of Ricciardo since his move to Renault for the 2019 season.
The struggles that dogged his time with the Woking-based outfit which has now sprung to the top of F1 have never been overcome, even since returning to Red Bull – first as third driver and then with AlphaTauri/RB.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
Team-mate Tsunoda has outperformed him more regularly than not this term and Ricciardo has not been able to adequately improve, leaving him in his current position.
Lawson is rumoured to be taking over for the United States Grand Prix and if Ricciardo’s demeanour and interview answers on Sunday are anything to go by, that may well be a confirmed switch in the near future.
It’s a swap that makes perfect sense for Red Bull’s F1 operation. The pool of drivers it has at its disposal is arguably the weakest it has had – underlined by the fact no driver has been able to budge Sergio Perez from the parent team despite his struggles.
The New Zealander is certain to be on the grid next season anyway, with Ricciardo the most likely to give way, so why not give him time in the car? In an era where testing is limited to three days pre-season, limited filming days and the occasional Pirelli tyre test, a run at the end of the season would only be beneficial for Lawson to bed himself in with the team.
RB saw just what he could do when he stepped into the seat for five races last term when Ricciardo was sidelined, but further experience can only be a good thing for the man who is most likely to take over from Perez alongside Verstappen – whenever that is.
Where the car is at right now means that this isn’t a swap which will be with points in mind. It’s a necessity for Red Bull’s F1 operation and its future at a time when most of its stability has already been lost.
Ricciardo doesn’t deserve mid-season exit – Sam Hall
Formula 1 is a sport and a business which we are often told has no room for sentiment, and the decision to axe Ricciardo mid-season is proof of this beyond doubt.
An unquestionable fan favourite and one of the most likeable personalities within the paddock, the Australian has done more than most to be deserving of a fitting send-off.
Yes, his results this season have done little to stake his case for a seat in 2025, but have they been tragically poor enough to warrant the ignominy of a mid-season ejection? No.
Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Although 10 points shy of Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo’s form since the Canadian Grand Prix has in fact trended higher than his team-mate, so the harsh nature of a results-based industry cannot be to blame.
It must be conceded that there is some logic in looking towards the future and evaluating the talent that you have within the pool, but is this not something that could be achieved – as every other team manages – by testing older machinery and using the simulator?
To Ricciardo, and while I agree that this season should be his last – something which genuinely hurts to say – there is no reason why he should be kicked into touch with only the fanfare given to him by the media.
If the Singapore Grand Prix transpires to have been his last outing, then RB and Red Bull should have rolled out the red carpet and made a big thing about Ricciardo, showcased his achievements, and shown publicly how much he has been a valued member of both teams.
More than this, it would have given the fans the opportunity to properly say goodbye, rather than scrolling social media indefinitely, just waiting for the final nail to be hammered off the stage into the coffin of his F1 career.
With a poor car and a grasp on strategy that appears to have come straight from the Ferrari pitwall of old, there is a limit to what can be achieved at RB this year. And with Haas just three points behind in the constructors’, this change could come at a hefty cost.
Red Bull’s Ricciardo gamble hasn’t paid off, but it is cutting its losses – Haydn Cobb
When Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 return was announced last year to replace the flat-lining Nyck de Vries, he was put in to get his mojo back, to try to discover the Daniel of old. It was a gamble but Red Bull was hedging its bets.
And when he was retained for 2024, picked over Liam Lawson, to continue that mojo-recapturing journey and be an option to replace Sergio Perez if the Mexican failed to deliver, there was a clear plan.
But after the opening eight rounds of this season and just five points to his name – a commendable fourth place in the Miami sprint – he was being thoroughly outperformed by Tsunoda, the writing was on the wall.
Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
When Red Bull decided to stick with Perez over the summer break and not twist on an alternative, there was no denying project Ricciardo was aborted.
If Red Bull is true to its cutthroat approach, particularly those in the RB/AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso squad, the Australian could have considered himself lucky to return from his summer holidays with his name still at the top of the team’s garage.
Since then, four races with no points and no sign of the Ricciardo of old, those performances have seemingly made up the minds of the Red Bull bosses. Adding to the fact Red Bull hasn’t been able to find a temporary alternative home for Lawson, and risked losing its best junior at the end of the year due to contract clauses, it means cutting its losses with Ricciardo and putting it all on red with Lawson is set to be the right decision.
Sure, as my colleagues have eloquently summed up, F1 without Ricciardo is a poorer place and the paddock will miss its smiling joker, while he deserved a better send-off than what he looks set to have been given in Singapore. Thoughts and prayers with Drive to Survive’s production team at this time too; first Guenther Steiner, now this.
As much as it’ll hurt all involved, Ricciardo’s body language and words over the weekend showed both he and Red Bull know when it is time to cut your losses and walk away from the table.