Red Bull Racing has officially announced the departure of Daniel Ricciardo from Formula 1, marking the end of an era for the charismatic driver. The announcement was made through a heartfelt social media tribute on Thursday afternoon, poignantly titled "Thank you Daniel." In the post, Red Bull highlighted Ricciardo's invaluable contributions to the team, including seven of his eight career victories while driving for them.
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies praised Ricciardo, saying, “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.” Mekies' statement underscored Ricciardo's significant positive impact on team dynamics and morale, making his departure all the more poignant for the team and its fans.
Thank you Daniel 💙
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) September 26, 2024
⁰Laurent Mekies on Daniel: “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.”#F1 #VCARB pic.twitter.com/cqKrbFAehU
In response to the announcement, Ricciardo took to Instagram to share his thoughts and gratitude.
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“I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey. To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you. It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure,” Ricciardo wrote.
During a post-race interview after the Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo reflected on his situation, drawing parallels with his departure from McLaren in 2022.
“I tried to obviously enjoy it [the Singapore Grand Prix weekend], a little bit like the end of '22 with McLaren,” he said. “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 and I'm proud of the career.”
Ricciardo's return to Formula 1 saw its share of challenges, including a major setback due to a crash at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, which resulted in a broken wrist. His comeback was further complicated by his struggle for consistency, even as he delivered notable performances such as a fourth-place finish in the Miami sprint and an eighth-place finish in Canada. Mekies commented on Ricciardo's mixed results.
“You and a few other people have asked us so many times, can Daniel still make it? And I think the answer on the track was yes, he can still make it. Look at Miami, look at Canada, look at these races where he's shown that the pure speed was there then. Did we manage to do that in a constant enough manner? No, we didn't. It’s never the driver or the team. It's both together, you know. So did we find the sweet spot often enough? Probably not. Did he show that he still had the ultimate speed when the sweet spot was there? Yeah, he definitely did.”
The emotional farewell has reverberated through the motorsport community, with many reflecting on Ricciardo's career, marked by both his innate speed and his ever-present smile. Mekies admitted that while Ricciardo’s ultimate speed was evident, the consistency needed for top-tier performance was not always there. “It is very possible that tomorrow you could find a car that leaves you in that sweet spot for more races than not. It would have been different if we had never seen the ultimate speed, but we saw it several times. And it's something we have never hid our share of responsibility for, in trying to give him the car needed to express himself, and trying to find the sweet spot more often than not,” Mekies concluded.
As the motorsport world says goodbye to Ricciardo, it has been confirmed that Liam Lawson will step up as Yuki Tsunoda’s teammate for the remainder of the season.
