Daniel Ricciardo’s crash at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix has been pinpointed as a “pivotal” moment that determined his F1 future.
Following the Singapore Grand Prix, it was confirmed that the eight-time grand prix winner has been replaced by Liam Lawson at Red Bull’s junior team for the remainder of the 2024 F1 season.
Ricciardo returned to RB midway through last year with the aim of replacing Sergio Perez at the senior team, but his comeback was hampered just two races in when he broke his hand in a crash at Zandvoort.
The 35-year-old Australian missed five races while he recovered from the injury, opening the door for Lawson to impress as he deputised in Ricciardo’s absence, scoring two points in Singapore with a brilliant drive to ninth.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, ex-grand prix driver turned pundit Anthony Davidson reckons Ricciardo’s incident and injury lay-off ultimately proved key in how events have transpired.
“Any driver will kick themselves after any incident no matter how lightly you get away with it, but I think that moment was really pivotal to his future at the team and his existence in Formula 1 as a whole,” Davidson said of Ricciardo’s crash at Zandvoort last year.
Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand in a crash
“It allowed a young driver, hungry, snapping at his heels, that chance to get behind the wheel. And like we’ve seen with [Franco] Colapinto, you give these young drivers a sniff of a chance in desperation, they deliver.
“That’s exactly what we’ve got with Liam Lawson. Since then, he’s probably been pestering Helmut Marko: ‘see the job I did, I can do better than that, put me back in the car, otherwise I’m off’.
“I think that last bit is crucial as well. I feel like if it wasn’t for Ricciardo moving aside now for Lawson, I fear for their sake that they would have lost Lawson to another team. Maybe Audi, who knows. But he needed to go somewhere and I think Red Bull could sense that.
“It’s a brutal sport. Who’s the future? Is it Ricciardo, or is it Lawson? Well, unfortunately for Ricciardo, Lawson is younger than him. So it’s just a game of numbers.”
Lawson has six races alongside Yuki Tsunoda in what is effectively an audition for a full-time RB seat – and potential Red Bull drive – next year.