After Daniel Ricciardo’s emotional post-race interview on Sunday, fans speculated that the Singapore Grand Prix was Ricciardo’s last in Formula 1.
However, no formal announcement has come from his team, Visa Cash App RB, yet.
Ricciardo is a veteran with eight wins and 32 podiums across his 13 years in F1. He is also one of the most loved drivers on the grid. It showed on Sunday when Ricciardo won Driver of the Day, a fan-voted award that was started in 2016.
Considering Ricciardo’s impressive F1 career and history with the Red Bull F1 organization, the potential of VCARB replacing him before the season is over, especially without a proper send off, seems disrespectful.
Both Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel ended their careers by doing donuts on the track after their final race. While Ricciardo doesn’t have any world championships like Alonso or Vettel, his impact on the sport and its fans is evident.
Many fans are upset that Ricciardo could be deprived of this tradition if he is officially replaced before the next race, which is on Oct. 20. Just barely missing out on the United States Grand Prix would rub salt in the wound for Ricciardo, who has been outspoken about his love for Austin, Texas, where the race takes place.
Ricciardo’s forced exit is believed to be the result of a clause in his assumed replacement Liam Lawson’s own contract with Red Bull. Lawson, who is a reserve driver for Red Bull, was to be released from Red Bull if they did not give or find him a race seat for the 2024-25 F1 season.
Red Bull does not want to let a young talent like Lawson go to waste. He has already shown promise in F1 when he stepped in for Ricciardo last season after Ricciardo broke his wrist and scored two points in five races.
However, Red Bull has not taken Lawson seriously, either. While waiting for circumstances to cause a seat to open up are part of the reserve’s purpose, Red Bull has strung Lawson along with empty promises of a seat for a while now.
If Ricciardo is replaced, he would not be the first driver that has been sacked mid-season this year.
In August, Williams Racing released Logan Sargeant and replaced him with Franco Colapinto. However, Williams F1 also considered Lawson for the position.
Red Bull was willing to loan Lawson to Williams F1 for the remainder of the season under the condition that Lawson would be available to Red Bull if the need arised, which Williams did not agree with.
William’s treatment of Sargeant was met with backlash. During the Australian Grand Prix in March, Alex Albon crashed his car beyond repair during Free Practice 1. Williams did not have a back-up car, so they decided to give Sargeant’s car to Albon, leaving Sargeant unable to participate in the race.
Replacing a driver if they’re underperforming isn’t a new thing. Red Bull promoted Albon from its second team, which was called Toro Rosso at the time, to replace Pierre Gasly mid-way through the 2019 season.
Before last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo, who started the 2023 season as a reserve driver for Red Bull, replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, the same Red Bull second team as Albon, but with a new sponsor.
The harsh treatment isn’t limited to F1, either. IndyCar team Arrow McLaren made multiple mid-season changes this year. McLaren was set to start this season with Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi and David Malukas as their three main drivers.
However, Malukas suffered a wrist injury before the start of the season that required surgery. Callum Ilott filled in for Malukas for a couple races before being replaced by Théo Pourchaire.
However, instead of waiting for Malukas to heal and rejoin the team, McLaren released him and announced that Pourchaire would replace Malukas as their third driver entirely. Then, McLaren decided to replace Pourchaire with Nolan Siegel after Pourchaire’s 91 points in six races.
A rapid replacement like this is a huge hit to a driver’s confidence, especially when it leaves drivers without another team to turn to. However, Ricciardo does not have a contract with any team for the next F1 season, and the options are scarce with only two empty seats left on the grid.
This treatment isn’t just harmful to the drivers. Teams have to answer to public criticism, potentially straining the relationship with their other drivers. It could mean the loss of fans and even sponsor support.
All in all, racing teams need to show more respect for their drivers, not just because the drivers deserve it, but because their reputations depend on it.
