'Obviously I came up short': when Ricciardo went off-message in Singapore

Usually departing drivers, whether retiring voluntarily or accepting that that no one is going to give them a seat the following year, at least have an opportunity to celebrate their careers. After 257 starts over 14 years Ricciardo certainly deserved the chance to have a proper send-off.

Instead the race was business as usual for him, apart from the presence of some Aussie friends who had obviously come over to share the moment, and an impromptu emotional welcoming committee when he returned to the team hospitality building after the race.

Assuming Singapore was the final start, it was something of an odd one. Called in at the last minute to take fresh soft tyres in an attempt to nab fastest lap – and thus rob Lando Norris of the bonus point – he did the job he was asked to. A clever bit of intra-team assistance between the two Red Bull outfits…

However that third stop on a day when most drivers pitted only once left him 18th and last. Not exactly the way anyone would want to go out.

After the race he finally went a little off-message and all but admitted what the real story is, and that he knew all along that this was it.

“Look, obviously there is a realistic chance that it’s not going to happen,” he said when I asked if we would see him in Austin. “I think obviously it’s been a very race-by-race situation with Red Bull, I think for all of us, in a way, obviously Checo [Perez] as well.

“And at times it feels like it’s going one way, then it goes the other. And obviously there was a lot of emphasis on this weekend, and I would have loved a better weekend, and who knows if that would have changed anything, or if the decision’s been made already, even prior to the weekend?

“I’m obviously prepared for it, and that’s why I think over the weekend I just tried to acknowledge a few things as well with myself, and I think acknowledged also why I came back into the sport. Sometimes you’ve got to see a big picture.”

After the McLaren disaster he was given a career lifeline and an opportunity to prove that he could potentially one day return to the senior Red Bull team. To do that he had at the very least to outperform Yuki Tsunoda.

The bottom line is that while he has done a respectable job, and on occasion been ahead of the Japanese driver in qualifying, he has scored 12 points to the 22 of his team-mate. The dream of returning to RBR evaporated.

“I always said I don’t just want to be a guy that’s here on the grid and fighting for a point every now and then, which has kind of been how this year’s gone,” he said on Sunday night.

“But obviously this year, the purpose was to try and then do good enough to get back into Red Bull, and obviously fight for wins again, and see if I’ve still got it.

“I feel like obviously I came up short with that. So I think then okay, what else am I fighting for here? What else is going to give me fulfilment?

“Because I’ve been a young driver as well, and at some point, I don’t just want to take up space also, but obviously you have to be selfish.

“I think for me, if I’m not able to then fight at the front with Red Bull, then as I said I have to ask myself, what am I staying on the grid for? So that’s something I’ve also come to peace with.”

To his great credit he has recognised his limitations, and the fact that a new wave of younger talent is coming through.

“I’m also 35, and I still showed the pace that I’ve had over the years, but it’s obviously been evident that it’s been harder for me to show it every weekend,” he said.

“And maybe that is a little bit of an age thing. I think it definitely came easier for me when I was 25, as opposed to 35, but also maybe the competition is just increasing, I think that’s probably a common thing with all sports.

“Simulators are getting better, the kids are getting younger, and they have access to all onboards now, so they can watch and study everyone.

“Maybe it’s just the level has increased, and it’s probably a tall task for me to fight at that level, week in, week out. So I can’t be disappointed with that. I think I’m happy that once upon a time, I could do it, and that was a lot of fun.

“And also if this is it, I want to make sure I walk away, or let’s say, leave the sport with good memories of it, and it doesn’t get into that place where it’s just a grind, and I’m out in Q1 every weekend. That’s obviously not fun.”

At a time that F1 is looking to youth, amid the hype around the likes of Kimi Antonelli, Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman, and given the struggles of Sergio Perez and the possibility that the talismanic Verstappen may depart in 2026 or 2027, it’s only natural that RBR is looking for its next superstar.

Lawson has been a very visible presence on the sidelines, having proved his worth on his five AlphaTauri outings last year. A few weeks ago he conducted two days of Pirelli testing, in both the 2024 Red Bull and RB chassis, and it was clear that he was limbering up for something.

An important Lawson contract deadline was hit over the Baku weekend – in effect a “use him or lose him” option. If he wasn’t given a race drive, he’d be free to leave. The door was open for him at Sauber/Audi.

Meanwhile Isack Hadjar is battling for the F2 title, and Arvin Lindblad starred in F3 and will graduate to F2 in 2025. Ricciardo was the cork in the bottle.

So why oust him now, rather than allow him to see out the season? Well, RB is currently embroiled in a fight for sixth place in the constructors’ championship, and after a P9 for Nico Hülkenberg in Singapore Haas is now just three points behind, while Williams is also only 18 adrift.

With every score precious Red Bull clearly believes that a fully motivated Lawson has the better chance of getting into the top 10.

However, there is a bigger picture. Although Red Bull continues to insist that Perez will race in 2025, and his camp insists that he is safe contractually, doubts remain.

The Mexican did a good job in Baku until his crash with Carlos Sainz, but he had another poor weekend in Singapore.

So far this year Verstappen has scored 331 points, and Perez 144. While the latter has arguably suffered more from the handling quirks of the RB20, that huge disparity in performance is likely to cost Red Bull the constructors’ championship.

If Lawson does a mega job over these last six races he will make a good case for a direct promotion to RBR and into the hot seat alongside Verstappen in 2025, while also providing those in the camp who already support that idea with the evidence that they need to justify a change.

Should Lawson go straight into the senior team the empty RB seat could go instead to Hadjar, the next man in line, with Lindblad keeping everyone on their toes as reserve.

Such a big call won’t be made until after the season, and Perez still has a chance to turn things around with some good results.

Even if he survives into 2025 the writing is on the wall as far as 2026 is concerned, with Christian Horner already making noises about looking outside the pool and hiring George Russell.

Let’s hope that when the end does come Perez accepts it as gracefully as Ricciardo did on Sunday night.

“I tried to obviously enjoy it, a little bit like the end of ’22 with McLaren,” he said. “I was aware maybe that was my last race, so I tried to enjoy that. I think I’m in a much happier place now in the sport than I was then. So if this is it, let’s say I have a little bit more peace. I’m proud of the career.

“Obviously, I tried to become World Champion, I tried to become the best at something in the world. I think it is a tall task that we ask from ourselves. And obviously, some achieve it, some don’t.

“So yeah, in the end, if I came up a little short, I also can’t be too hard on myself. I’m happy with the effort I put in, and I think for that, there’s no sadness or feeling of regret, or what could have been. I think put my best foot forward.”