From 2011 to 2024, Daniel Ricciardo has had his fair share of the spotlight. 8 wins to his name, 32 podiums, 3 pole positions, and a grand total of 1329 points from his 13-year career in Formula 1. Over the 2024 season, there have been numerous rumours of it being Ricciardo’s last season in the sport, with many reports of the Australian said to be involuntarily booted in the earlier races.
His season hasn’t been the greatest, earning only 12 points as of the Singapore GP, compared to his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, with 22 points. His highest finish was in the Miami sprint, coming P4. This seemed great for Ricciardo, especially with the amount of rumours circling him then. However, it wouldn’t last long, with a disappointing P15 on Sunday following the sprint. His next points finish was Canada, coming in P8, and 2 races later in P9 in Austria. Ricciardo scored what could possibly be his final F1 point in Belgium, 54 seconds behind the race winner.
It’s evident the 2014 star has burnt out, his career slowly expiring after leaving Red Bull Racing in 2019. He transferred to Renault (now known as Alpine) for two years, then moved to McLaren in 2021 for just a year, where he earned his last race win in Monza. It was an emotional moment for Ricciardo, the man believing he would never stand on that top step again after departing Red Bull. After that race, everything seemed to go downhill. He became a reserve driver for Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri (now VCARB), in 2023 after leaving McLaren and had the chance to replace Nyck de Vries from the Hungarian GP and onwards.
Just one race later, Ricciardo would crash during FP2 of the Dutch GP. He endured a broken hand while avoiding fellow Australian Oscar Piastri, hitting the wall instead of the rookie. He was able to return for the Austin GP five races later after Liam Lawson had replaced him. Lawson took the team by storm, knocking Max Verstappen out of qualifying as well as scoring a points finish for AlphaTauri. These results immediately gave Lawson a closer step to being able to race in F1 full time, being on the team's radar for the 2025 season as opposed to Ricciardo (or Perez in Red Bull after his performance declined). Ricciardo finished the 2023 season in P17, Lawson only 4 points behind after his five races.
The week prior to the Singapore GP is when these rumours began, headlines of Ricciardo set to be extracted from the team—or even the sport—overshadowing everything else. It seemed it was set in stone—a mutual agreement and understanding from everyone that this could be his last weekend on an F1 race track.
Ricciardo had the chance to score the fastest lap, switching onto soft tires on the second last lap, taking the point from Norris, helping his former teammate, Verstappen, in the championship after Red Bull’s team principal requested it. The 1.34.486 lap time became a new record at the track, beating Carlos Sainz’s previous record time. He was also able to win the ‘Driver of the Day’ award, some referring to it as the ‘Driver of the Decade’, in honour of his career.
Though not confirmed, Ricciardo was emotional the entire weekend, especially in press conferences post-race; his eyes glazed over with tears and nostalgia. He stayed with reporters for hours, seeming to be making the most of whatever time he had left. It wouldn’t be until 1:46am on Monday morning that he would leave the paddock for the last time, a smile etched onto his face as always. Whether or not VCARB is going to let him go, there is a strange mix of certainty and doubt on whether he will return for Austin in October. According to most media workers in the paddock, the announcement is to come sometime in the weeks following Singapore. If it is true, Ricciardo will be replaced by Lawson, which will most likely also secure the 22-year-old Kiwi driver a seat for 2025.
If the outcome is to be positive or not, The Honeybadger lived up to his full potential in his time racing and truly did “enjoy the butterflies.”
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