Formula One has lost one of its most popular drivers: Daniel Ricciardo is competing in his last Grand Prix, and Frederik Hackbarth accompanied him in Singapore
voted “Driver of the Day” by the fans, plus the fastest race lap, and that in the Racing Bull – it’s as clear as day that this is the best place to sleep in our weekly race column. But the story of Daniel Ricciardo this weekend in Singapore is by no means that simple.
It actually begins a few days before the Grand Prix. Ralf Schumacher finally reveals on Sky what the better-informed among Formula 1 journalists have known for some time: Singapore will be Daniel Ricciardo’s last race. Red Bull wants to rely on junior Liam Lawson from Austin onwards.
However, this is not officially communicated, not even after the Schumacher leak. So instead, an unworthy spectacle begins in Singapore: Ricciardo, who has long been informed of the decision, is thrown to the press in his media appointments on Thursday, no matter how he turns and turns, he can’t get out of the number anymore, he’s just not allowed to say anything officially.
The dithering of the team bosses is even worse: as long as there has been no communication, everything is open, according to Christian Horner and Co. – in view of the known facts, this is not a medium-sized, but a complete PR disaster. At least Helmut Marko lets it be clearly seen between the lines in the Sky interview where the journey for Ricciardo is headed – namely home.
Exactly 18 years after his trip through the Red Bull cosmos began at a junior test in Estoril, in a shootout against current Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, of all people. Back then, Ricciardo came out on top, but nowadays, after a mixed season with inconsistent performances with the Racing Bulls, he is no longer trusted to be significantly better than the Mexican in the Red Bull to make a switch worthwhile.
Since the comeback plan, with the Netflix-desired narrative of a return to the top team, has thus failed, Red Bull no longer sees the need to block a place in the B team for the 35-year-old. However, as always in Formula 1, there is also an existing construct of contracts, clauses and sponsorship agreements that apparently prevented a clear cut that would have allowed Ricciardo to take his well-deserved leave.
Anger, acceptance and a last official act
Consequentially, there will be no loopholes this time either, such as a return to the second rank as a reserve driver. A corresponding press release is expected in the course of the week, but not on Monday, so that the game of hide and seek over the weekend does not look quite as ridiculous as it ultimately was.
Behind closed doors, so it is said in the paddock, Ricciardo did not take the decision so well at first and was understandably annoyed. In the meantime, however, a certain form of acceptance has set in. The Australian himself confirmed this on Sunday after the race, saying that he was “at peace with it” if this should be it for him in Formula One, in which he was able to enjoy a successful career.
And that peace is exactly the keyword. The reason why Daniel Ricciardo can finally sleep well again the night after the Singapore Grand Prix is that “all the shit that’s going on here,” as he himself called the media gauntlet and homemade circus surrounding his person on Saturday, is finally over.
No wonder, then, that after the race, before the melancholy, Ricciardo personally feels relief. The pressure is off, and the “Honey Badger” has suddenly even found his smile again, which had been sought in vain all weekend.
That’s how Ricciardo’s emotional farewell to F1 went
And: He had fun out there on the track again, setting the fastest lap on fresh tires at the very end. A small farewell gift from the team to its departing driver, so to speak. Of course, the main team Red Bull and world champion Max Verstappen are happy to take the one point less that they lose in the world championship fight against McLaren.
But anyone who knows Ricciardo also knows that he didn’t want to miss out on the one last flying qualifying round – on a city street circuit that he really likes and on which he stood on the podium four times in a row between 2014 and 2017 – and that he really wanted to enjoy the feeling in his race car one more time. Especially as this gave him the chance to say goodbye somehow after all, and to do so with a small exclamation mark.
On Sunday, it is noticeable that the Australian does certain things differently in his routines. He takes an extremely long time to get out of the car, just as he does in the media pen after the race. He goes from TV station to TV station, then to the writing guild, and talks at great length everywhere – almost as if he wants to savor every remaining second in the life of an active Formula 1 driver.
Ricciardo spends almost an hour after the race just giving interviews. “He was certainly emotional,” Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer tells us shortly afterwards. Because after that, his protégé goes back to the pit lane, to his team, where the Australian spends a long time with his mechanics again at the end of his last working day, saying goodbye to each of them individually.
And the same applies to a small group of photographers and journalists, including myself, who are waiting for him behind the pits. “I appreciate it,” he says to me as we high-five for the last time. A quick pat on the back, and of course a last grin, and then he’s gone…