This was already sensed in Singapore, with the whole team and paddock gathered around him, but today came the official confirmation. Daniel Ricciardo will no longer be on the starting grid from the next United States GP in Austin, where he will be replaced by Liam Lawson, who will compete in the final part of the 2024 season alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
This replacement reflects Ricciardo’s trajectory in recent months in F1. From being in a position to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull, he has now lost his seat to Lawson, who had impressed during the previous championship while standing in for the injured Ricciardo.
Red Bull’s hoped-for and dreamed-of plan to bring the “prodigal son” back to the main team, after Ricciardo left for adventures with Renault and McLaren, did not materialize. As explained by Helmut Marko, who commented on Daniel Ricciardo’s exit from F1 after the announcement of his replacement by Lawson, this situation led to other considerations, mainly the need to evaluate and provide opportunities for other drivers in the junior team.
“Ricciardo was brought back to F1 with the possibility of moving to Red Bull Racing if he demonstrated adequate performances at Racing Bulls. But we have to look at the bigger picture. We have a good number of young drivers like Hadjar and Lawson,” commented Helmut Marko in an interview with the sister site of Motorsport.com, motorsport-total.com, highlighting that there are other drivers on the rise whose futures need to be considered.
Hadjar is currently in second place in Formula 2 after losing the lead in the standings during the last race in Baku. However, the Frenchman still has two weekends left to try to overturn the championship and reclaim the top spot. There are also other drivers, like Iwasa, who returned to Japan to compete in Super Formula after completing two years in F2, where he finished fifth and fourth in the overall standings.
“There is also Iwasa, without making rankings. We have to look to the future, and we also want to make comparisons: where does Lawson stand compared to Yuki [Tsunoda]? And then, for the future, what will be the driver lineups for our two teams?” added Marko.
The announcement of Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement comes after a Singapore Grand Prix where the former Racing Bulls driver set the fastest lap—a sort of farewell that actually helped Red Bull in the fight for the world championship by taking away the extra point from Lando Norris. Daniel Ricciardo was informed that the Marina Bay race would be his last with the Faenza team, but this was not officially communicated to the press or fans, making the farewell feel almost surreal.
“He was informed, and I believe his performance worthy of a sendoff was the fastest lap,” Marko said before explaining how Red Bull managed both the communication of Ricciardo’s departure and why there wasn’t an official statement from the team until now.
“Both things are tied to a series of factors and obligations. You also have to be mindful of sponsors. But Ricciardo has said very clearly that he is at peace with himself, that he has accepted the situation, and we will see what his plans are for the future.”
“But even the fastest lap in Singapore is, in my opinion, a good farewell. He still showed his potential, though not consistently and not at the level that would have justified his return to Red Bull Racing.”
Ricciardo’s potential move to Red Bull was one of the key aspects of this story. Until a few months ago, there was intense talk of his return to the top team, but that never came to fruition, partly due to Sergio Perez’s confirmation during the summer break. There are several elements to this story, but it’s also true that since his return to AlphaTauri in mid-2023, Ricciardo has alternated between impressive performances and more challenging moments where he failed to convince.
During his time back at Faenza, notable results include a seventh-place finish in Mexico in 2023, a strong fourth in the Miami sprint race this year, and top ten finishes in Canada, Austria, and Belgium. These are undoubtedly interesting results that confirmed Ricciardo still had that spark, but they were too sporadic and certainly not enough to convince Red Bull to bet on him again for the long term, especially with the risk of losing Liam Lawson, as Sauber and Audi are interested in potentially signing him for the next season.
“I think it was made clear to him that he would need to be significantly better than Yuki Tsunoda. And he managed that in only a few races,” Marko explained when asked if there was ever a real chance for Ricciardo to return to Red Bull, especially as, before the summer break, it was becoming quite evident that the Australian was in pole position for Perez’s seat, much to the frustration of Tsunoda, who believed he was ready for the big step.
“I think a fourth place in a sprint race, but otherwise Yuki was the stronger driver, and so it became clear that this return or this ‘prodigal son’ story, with Ricciardo rejoining Red Bull Racing, unfortunately didn’t work out.”
After his departure from Racing Bulls, Daniel Ricciardo’s future is unclear, though the Australian has already made it known that he does not want to be a reserve driver or a simulator operator. This plan worked in 2023 because he wanted to maintain his connection to Formula 1 without completely falling out of the loop, hoping for a return. However, now that his top-tier career appears to be over, Ricciardo is no longer interested in that role, despite Red Bull wanting to keep him as a reserve, partly for commercial reasons.
“We had a conversation, and it’s clear that we are interested in having him as a third driver. He is one of the most popular F1 drivers, especially in the United States. But he wants time to consider his future. I don’t think he will race in another category. And on the other hand, if he is no longer racing actively, he will not want to do these sponsor and PR activities. Ricciardo also has a good bank account, so it’s up to him to decide how he wants to shape his future,” added Marko.
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