Formula 1 racing has seen a lot of drama this season. With championship battles and fights over seats for next season, there’s been no shortage of entertainment. However, what appears to be trending this season is mid-season departures from teams. Now, another driver is highly speculated to be losing his seat in the coming weeks.
Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has been rumored to have lost his seat at the Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) Formula 1 Team since the beginning of the season. The driver had a slow start to the 2024 season, being significantly outscored by his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, and caught up in crashes at early races. After the Chinese Grand Prix in April, it seemed almost definite that Ricciardo would be replaced before the summer races, but a strong performance at the Miami Grand Prix and the included sprint race saw those rumors fading away.
Ricciardo currently sits in 14th in the Driver Championships standings out of 20 seats on the grid. The driver has scored a total of 12 points during the season, not terrible for being seated in a mid-group car.
Many believe that this will be Ricciardo’s final season in Formula 1, with lots of competition for the two remaining seats on the grid for the 2025 season, one being his own at VCARB. Younger talent and stronger performances have hinted that he will be one of many seasoned drivers who will find themselves off the grid next season, but Ricciardo may be departing sooner rather than later.
In the days leading up to this past weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, F1 media outlets began reporting that it would be Ricciardo’s last race. This speculation was very alarming to fans across the world, especially after he seemed to be secure for the rest of the season for so many months.
It became highly speculated that Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson would replace Ricciardo during the American Grand Prix in October through the remaining six races of the calendar. Lawson temporarily replaced Ricciardo after the Dutch Grand Prix in 2023 after a hand injury left him unable to race, but Ricciardo finished the season after taking a few weeks off and was re-signed to his VCARB seat for 2024.
The Red Bull F1 teams, consisting of Oracle Red Bull Racing, leaders of the Driver Championship, and VCARB, have a reputation for being impatient regarding driver performance. They’ve replaced many drivers mid-season when their performances weren’t considered “up to par.”
The most recent example was in 2023 when Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries before the summer break when his performance at VCARB didn’t meet the team’s standards. VCARB is Red Bull’s sister team, meaning they’re also expected to perform well to take points away from competitors so Red Bull can continue to win championships.
What makes Ricciardo’s exit situation so surprising is that he was even rumored to be pulled up to Red Bull after the summer break to replace Sergio “Checo” Perez, who suffered from poor performance during the summer races. Despite this, Perez has remained in his seat and appears to be staying through the end of the 2026 season, going against the team’s reputation.
The random rumors about Ricciardo’s departure after Singapore seemed illegitimate, until the race itself. VCARB had Ricciardo go in for a last-minute pit stop during one of the final laps of the race to secure the fastest lap point from McLaren driver Lando Norris, who won the race and is slowly catching Red Bull Driver Max Verstappen in the Driver Championship. McLaren is taking a steady lead of the Constructor Championship. This could have been done as an every-point counts scenario, but then why wouldn’t the teams have asked Perez to do this instead and secured the point for Red Bull, not VCARB?
It became very clear that the teams did this as a “thank you” to Ricciardo in what very well may be his final race. Team radio also notified Verstappen of Ricciardo’s lap, telling his former teammate, “Your old pal Daniel took the fastest lap at the end.” Verstappen responded, saying, “Thank you, Daniel.”
Fans also voted Ricciardo Diver of the Day, a vote done every race to recognize what fans think was the best performance. While Ricciardo did drive a fantastic race, it is without question that Norris has the performance of the day, leading every lap; but it was a really sweet way to honor the driver so many fans love.
In the post-race press conference, Ricciardo was very emotional, holding back tears when talking to reporters about how much he loves driving and how the cockpit of the car has become a second home for him over the years. A reporter concluded his interview by saying he hoped to see Ricciardo in Austin, the location of the next race, and Ricciardo gave a heavy thanks and quickly walked away.
Ricciardo was welcomed back to his garage with applause from the team, but a heavy atmosphere could be noticed. F1 photographer Kym Illman told his social media following that Ricciardo was the last driver to leave the paddock on Sunday, seemingly taking everything in for the last time.
Daniel Ricciardo has been a star in Formula 1 since he made his debut in 2011, racing for several teams and taking home many memorable wins. His outgoing and fun personality has always been a welcome addition to the sport, which often feels stuffy and strict, bringing humor and energy onto the grid.
Ask any F1 fan, they’ll more than likely say that Ricciardo was one of the first drivers that got them excited about the sport. He is a starring player in the Netflix docuseries about the sport, Drive to Survive, and I can say that his energy on the sometimes-dull show made me start watching races at the beginning of the 2024 season.
Fans weren’t the only ones emotional about Ricciardo’s imminent departure after Singapore, with reporters and other drivers giving what appeared to be farewell speeches.
Millions of fans across the world, myself included, are all hoping this isn’t the last time we see Daniel Ricciardo race, but only time will tell. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of him in the F1 paddock, as his personality is perfect for commentary. We can hope he’ll join other former F1 drivers in this venture soon, but when it comes to driving, this may be farewell.
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