Daniel Ricciardo’s Components 1 profession, which spanned 15 seasons and included eight grand prix victories, deserved a extra becoming finish that the one which transpired in Singapore.
However his RB group has now indicated he gained’t return to the cockpit for the subsequent race. Making the circumstances all of the extra poignant, F1 is heading to Austin subsequent, a venue the charming and enormously common driver has developed a deep affinity for.
Ricciardo arrived in Singapore dealing with contemporary questions over his future. To start with, RB admitted to not more than their intention to evaluate the efficiency of their drivers following this weekend’s race.
However following the grand prix got here an unmistakeable change of tone. RB group principal Laurent Mekies claimed within the group’s press launch that they allowed Ricciardo to make an additional pit cease and push to set the quickest lap as a result of “this may occasionally have been Daniel’s final race.”
Many have been sceptical about this model of occasions, not least McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. He identified that, whereas Ricciardo stood to achieve nothing from the quickest lap, it disadvantaged race winner Lando Norris of an important bonus level in his pursuit of Max Verstappen.
Crimson Bull group principal Christian Horner, nonetheless, was grateful for the efforts of their second group’s driver. In fact neither Crimson Bull nor RB admitted any connection between the 2.
However regardless of the true motivation behind Ricciardo’s quickest lap bid, it produced a second wealthy in symbolism. Horner and Brown are each former employers of Ricciardo, and what successes would possibly they’ve loved collectively had his profession taken a unique course?
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Ricciardo lingered within the cockpit of his RB 01 after taking the chequered flag, sitting quietly within the darkness earlier than rising to face the inevitable questions. Together with, as soon as once more, probably the most inevitable of all of them: Did he make a mistake by leaving Crimson Bull six years earlier?
“On the time, clearly in my head every part made sense,” he advised Nico Rosberg, the newest individual to ask him, on Sky. “However was it one of the best determination of my profession? In fact you might argue no, it wasn’t.
“I’m okay with that. It’s a type of ones, additionally, there’s no assure that if I stayed I’d have accomplished superb and gained this and that. So that you by no means know. However after all I’m not going to face right here and say that was the best determination of my life.
“However you reside and also you study and clearly it will definitely introduced me again into the household and I don’t need to look again and be sort of unhappy or bitter about something. Every little thing, I suppose, occurs for a purpose.”
Ricciardo made his career-defining determination to go away Crimson Bull in mid-2018. That they had introduced him into Components 1 and made him a race winner, however dealing with a rising problem of Max Verstappen within the different automobile, Ricciardo determined a greater likelihood of success lay at Renault.
Six years on, nobody can convincingly argue Ricciardo was incorrect to determine Verstappen as a risk. Now a three-times world champion, Verstappen has thrashed each driver who has occupied that seat since Ricciardo: First Pierre Gasly, then Alexander Albon and now Sergio Perez.
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Whether or not Ricciardo may need accomplished higher in comparison with them is one thing we’ll by no means know. Horner actually reckoned Ricciardo had misplaced little of his tempo when he returned to check for Crimson Bull final yr. However he has solely confirmed frustratingly temporary glimpses of that sort of efficiency since then – and that ended his hopes of regaining his race seat at Crimson Bull.
Within the intervening interval, Ricciardo missed one other likelihood to get his arms on a championship-winning automobile. Having appropriately sussed Renault weren’t on a path to the entrance of the sector (their rebranded group is presently second from backside within the factors), Ricciardo headed to McLaren in 2021.
This proved a sensible selection of group. Three years later, McLaren are main the constructors’ championship and have an opportunity of taking one in all their drivers to the title too.
However Ricciardo, after all, is lengthy gone. Regardless of his shock victory at Monza in 2021, he was persistently proven up by Lando Norris, and McLaren lower his three-year contract quick after simply two seasons.
Crimson Bull and McLaren have been the 2 nice missed alternatives of Ricciardo’s profession. Had issues performed out otherwise he might have been driving both of their race-winning, championship-leading vehicles on Sunday.
So it was deeply ironic that he ought to discover himself taking part in what would possibly even turn into a championship-deciding function for his two former group mates. By denying Norris the quickest lap level, Ricciardo has ensured Verstappen can end second to his rival in all of the remaining races and nonetheless win the title.
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There may be far more racing to be accomplished earlier than we study whether or not that was a decisive second. However sadly not, it appears, for Ricciardo.
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2024 Singapore Grand Prix
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