Last Updated on September 16 2024, 1:50 pm
Daniel Ricciardo’s Racing Bulls future in doubt: Could Singapore be the end as speculation mounts over the Australian’s F1 career while Red Bull changes it’s long-term strategy – Daniel Ricciardo, one of the most recognisable names in Formula One, could be facing the end of his career in the sport, with rumours swirling that the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix could be his last. With 256 races under his belt, the 257th could be the final chapter in a celebrated, albeit turbulent, career.
Recent reports from respected F1 journalist Adam Cooper suggest that the Racing Bulls team, an integral part of the Red Bull family, are “exploring all options” regarding Ricciardo’s future, with a decision possibly being made after the Singapore race. If the signs are anything to go by, Ricciardo’s place on the grid is under serious threat and the Singapore race could be a defining moment for his future with the team.
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Ricciardo’s uncertain future
Adam Cooper’s inside sources suggest that Ricciardo’s performance, or lack thereof, in Singapore could determine whether he remains with the Racing Bulls for the remainder of the 2024 season or steps down earlier than expected. While Ricciardo has returned to the Red Bull fold to revive his F1 career, the team’s management are reportedly reviewing his contribution and a change in strategy is ‘firmly on the table’.
The possibility of Ricciardo’s early exit isn’t just linked to on-track performance, but also appears to be closely linked to Red Bull’s long-term goals and the promising talent waiting in the wings – New Zealander Liam Lawson.
Red Bull had a contractual obligation to secure a Formula One seat for Lawson by mid-September 2024, and it appears that commitment has now been fulfilled. Cooper suggests that Lawson will be driving for Red Bull by 2025 at the latest, although his debut in a Red Bull car could come much sooner.
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The Liam Lawson factor
Liam Lawson’s Formula One career has been on the rise and it seems that Red Bull see the 22-year-old as a future star in their ranks. He has been touted as a possible replacement for current Red Bull A-team driver Sergio Pérez, and his promotion to F1 was more a question of when than if.
One of the most significant details in Cooper’s report is the possibility that Lawson could replace Ricciardo before the end of the current season. With the Singapore Grand Prix fast approaching, there’s a growing belief that Ricciardo’s performance there will come under intense scrutiny. Should the Australian fail to deliver, it would be the perfect opportunity for Red Bull to fast-track Lawson into the driver’s seat.
Lawson’s potential promotion has been a hot topic in the paddock, especially with Williams, another team on the grid, expressing interest in signing him to replace Logan Sargeant.
However, Red Bull were quick to rebuff the move. The decision to keep Lawson in the fold, rather than allow him to join a rival team, signals Red Bull’s intentions to use him in their own line-up, possibly as early as this season.
Commercial concerns set aside
For Ricciardo, the situation has implications beyond his career. The Racing Bulls’ main sponsors, Visa and CashApp, have tied significant commercial investment to the Australian’s name, which has been crucial in maintaining strong brand partnerships.
Ricciardo’s marketability, charisma and widespread fan base make him a valuable asset beyond his on-track skills. However, according to Cooper, commercial factors play little part in Red Bull’s driver line-up decisions.
Despite Ricciardo’s popularity with fans and sponsors alike, the team appears to be focused on long-term strategic goals rather than short-term commercial gain. Lawson represents the future, and in the fiercely competitive world of Formula One, performance and potential often take precedence over marketing appeal.
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A long-term plan for Red Bull
Red Bull’s apparent faith in Lawson is part of a wider strategy that extends well beyond the current season. According to Cooper, the Racing Bulls are keen to give Lawson the necessary track time and experience to prepare him for a leading role in Red Bull’s A-team. The 2024 season could be a training ground for the young driver, with a view to him eventually succeeding Pérez, who has enjoyed a solid but unspectacular run alongside Max Verstappen.
Ricciardo’s potential departure from the team would pave the way for Lawson to enter F1 earlier than expected, ensuring he gains valuable experience before taking on a more prominent role. In many ways, Ricciardo’s future with the team is a casualty of this long-term vision, where young and promising talents like Lawson are groomed to take on greater responsibilities within Red Bull’s wider programme.
Conclusion: End of the road for Ricciardo?
As F1 heads to Singapore, all eyes will be on Daniel Ricciardo and his performance. While his future with the Racing Bulls hangs in the balance, the winds of change are blowing through Red Bull’s driver line-up. With Liam Lawson waiting in the wings and Red Bull management seemingly determined to invest in their future star, Ricciardo’s fate may already be sealed, barring an exceptional performance in the coming races.
For the Australian, the Singapore Grand Prix could very well be the last time he steps into a Formula One car under the Red Bull banner. If so, it will be a poignant, if not unexpected, end for one of the sport’s most popular and charismatic drivers. The sun may be setting on Ricciardo’s career, but for Liam Lawson, a new era is just beginning.
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Just when Sergio Perez thought it was safe to go out in the F1 paddock in Baku, a last lap battle with Charles Leclerc saw the Mexican driver lose out to his team mate once again. Checo was on for a podium finish when he bailed out of a late overtake move on Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari driver looked doomed having reported his rear tyres were finished two laps earlier, yet somehow Perez decided he couldn’t complete the overtake backing out and taking the inside line. Carlos Sainz seeing an opportunity went around the outside and was ahead as the pair dulled out of turn two in Baku.
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For the time being, Ricciardo is still set to see out the season as planned, but in any case, he’s days as an F1 driver are numbered again, but most likely for good this time around.
As for the Williams reference, they didn’t truly desire Lawson as a temporary successor in the first place, but irrelevant afterwards.
Ricardo has been around long enough to know that once you are the center of
the rumors, it’s most likely the truth. The only reason Ricardo is still in F1 ?
Mr Horner and him are buddies from way back. Bottom line, his time has expired. Marco wants Liam behind the wheel yesterday. This next F1 race is Ricardo’s last time as a F1 driver.
DR has had a shit ride this year. He complained of something wrong with his chassis and when they finally listened to him and gave him a new one, he has outperformed Yuki Tsunoda ever since. That should have been enough to keep him in the Red Bull fold, except that while other teams made steps ahead, RB didn’t, and so he has little chance of making up the points difference to Yuki with a crap car. The couple of races went he car wasn’t crap, they made horrible decisions in strategy, costing DR points. Seems like Ricciardo can’t buy good luck this year. But hey, he’s doing well financially and likely will continue to do so. Thought o feel sorry for him.
Every week there’s a new article on here about Danny Ric being sacked after “insert track here” race.
Lots of commentators continue to get it wrong.
Just relax and see what happens lol.
Thejudge13.com the source of misleading information and spreading false claims. Daniel finished the Baku race while both Perez and Tsunoda failed to finish the race. You never take that in in your notes. It feels that the writer of thejudge13.com is an anti-Ricciardo bandwagon commentary team member!
Funny thing is about 1%
I am extremely disappointed with all this rubbish circulating in the media regarding Ricciardo’s “imminent sacking” and all the rest of it.
The truth is this:
AlphaTauri’s rebranding into VCARB, along with the arrival of Mekies as TP, was meant to “usher in a new era” whereby the team would have closer collaboration with Red Bull (to the extent legally permissible by the rules). If anyone were to re-read their press releases, it is clear that they desired to no longer be a “junior” RB F1 team (a sentiment shared conclusively with their shareholders) but rather with ambitions to race at the front of the field.
The arrival of Ricciardo – a fast, experienced driver who, as a bonus, is a sponsor’s dream – aligned with this new, battle-hardened approach of VCARB quite neatly. For Ricciardo’s sake, his desire was clear: to out-race Tsunoda and win the intra-team battle between the two drivers, so to have an outside chance to race for RB alongside Verstappen.
I recently analysed the 20 F1 races so far in 2024 (including sprint and full qualifying, sprint and proper races, and finishing positions), and compared Ricciardo to Tsunoda. The results speak for themselves:
– Tsunoda has out-qualified Ricciardo 12-8
– On average, Tsunoda qualifies 0.25 places ahead of Ricciardo (12.5 to 12.75)
– Ricciardo has finished ahead of Tsunoda 11-9
– On average, Ricciardo finishes the race 0.65 places ahead of Tsunoda (12.6 to 13.25)
– Despite this, Tsunoda has outscored Ricciardo by 10 points (22-12)
On the last point, Tsunoda’s points tally is skewed heavily towards the start of the season, primarily at the Australian and Miami GPs. Note also that Tsunoda’s 7th place finish in Melbourne was at the expense of DNFs to Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell, which would have finished ahead of him. At Miami, Ricciardo suffered tyre-graining, and track evolution changes in full qualifying meant that setup changes he made could not yield a better starting position than P18, despite having qualified P4 the day before.
We all know that Ricciardo had issues at McLaren, due to the characteristics of the car, but the nonsense made by Villeneuve and other media personnel that he “has expired” or “past his prime” is simply not true. Ricciardo needs a handful of races to feel comfortable with the car’s characteristics, but after that, he continues to be up there as one of the top drivers in F1, even now. See, for example, the 2014 F1 season, or more recently, the 2020 reason driving the Renault. The VCARB is not especially quick at the moment relative to the others – including Williams, Haas and even Alpine – so a simple comparison of points between the drivers does not consider the full story.
If we consider and adjust the statistics above for non-unforced errors (i.e. errors in which other drivers or poor strategy have caused either Tsunoda or Ricciardo to DNF or suffer issues), and their finishing positions relative to each other, we observe the following:
– Tsunoda still out-qualifies Ricciardo 12-8
– On average, Tsunoda still qualifies 0.25 places ahead of Ricciardo (12.5 to 12.75)
– Ricciardo still finishes ahead of Tsunoda 11-9
– On average, Ricciardo finishes the race 1.55 places ahead of Tsunoda (11.7 to 13.3)
– Ricciardo outscores Tsunoda by 2 points (18-16).
The complete and utter rubbish by the media, especially Dr Marko, does not respectfully nor fully consider the full perspective. Consider the irony in this – now, all of a sudden, VCARB mysteriously has become again a “junior team”, going completely against everything it has said at the start of the year. Given Perez’s shortcomings as a driver, Ricciardo is the safest option at Red Bull. He’s quick, experienced, accustomed to the pressure, and also still the only driver to compete against Verstappen. The car, still to this day, suits Ricciardo’s driving characteristics, and he knows the team well.
Plus, do not forget that Ricciardo is 0.7s faster than Hamilton, 0.9s faster than Webber, and 1.8s quicker than Vettel in the same car.
If I were Horner, I’d give Ricciardo one last chance in the Red Bull. He is faster than Tsunoda and Lawson, but the car’s inherent weaknesses means he is unable to show that purely through top ten finishes. We all know what happens when we give Ricciardo a car he likes to drive, and the impetus to prove all the media wrong.