"At some point it will come for all of us," says reflective Daniel Ricciardo after likely Singapore swansong amid strong Liam Lawson replacement rumours; "Let's say the fairytale ending didn't happen but I also have to look back on what it's been," adds Ricciardo on his 13 years in F1
Sunday 22 September 2024 22:59, UK
Daniel Ricciardo is "prepared for this maybe being it" for his Formula 1 career after the Singapore GP amid strong speculation the Australian is poised to lose his RB seat to Liam Lawson before the next race.
The 35-year-old, who has won eight grands prix in a 257-race career over 14 seasons, did not play down the much-rumoured suggestion after finishing 18th in Sunday's race that he would likely not be returning to the grid for the following race in the USA in four weeks' time.
"I have to acknowledge it's obviously been a little bit of a race-by-race situation and I would obviously have loved the weekend to have gone better," Ricciardo told Sky Sports F1 in a reflective and emotional interview after a difficult race he was nonetheless voted the fans' driver of the day and took the fastest lap after a late pit stop for new tyres.
"It didn't, so I have to be prepared for this maybe being it.
"Let's say I'm at peace with it. At some point it will come for all of us."
Speaking shortly beforehand in the TV pen to Craig Slater, Ricciardo said: "I also have to acknowledge why I came back [to the Red Bull stable in 2023] after the McLaren stint.
"I always said I don't want to come back just to be on the grid, I want to try and fight back at the front and get back with Red Bull.
"Obviously it didn't come to fruition so then I also have to ask myself the question: 'Well, then what else can I achieve and what else us there to really go for?'
"I put my best foot forward, let's say the fairytale ending didn't happen but I also have to look back on what it's been. Thirteen or so years and I'm proud."
Seemingly in response to the uncertainty about his future, and in recognition of his overall achievements in F1, the hugely-popular Ricciardo won the fans' driver of the day vote on Sunday despite experiencing a frustrating weekend near the back of the field.
And the Australian admitted: "Typically the driver of the day is not something us drivers look too much into, but today I can say it's something I'm appreciative of. That one today means a little something."
After being let go by McLaren at the end of 2022 after a disappointing two-year stint at the Woking team, Ricciardo returned to the Red Bull fold as third driver at the start of the last year and, after impressing in a test of the team's senior car at Silverstone, was handed Nyck de Vries' seat at sister outfit RB mid-way through the 2023 season.
Ricciardo subsequently spoke about it being his "dream" to eventually return to the main Red Bull team next to Verstappen - where he previously drove with race-winning success in 2014-18 before quitting for Renault - but the Australian has not made a convincing case for promotion in the 14 months since, with team-mate Yuki Tsunoda generally holding the upper hand.
Unlike Tsunoda, Ricciardo does not have a confirmed contract to continue driving in to 2025.
Neither RB nor the main Red Bull squad have formally clarified Ricciardo's position in the seat beyond this weekend, although neither have the teams denied the growing speculation that reserve driver Lawson is poised to take over the drive from the next race at the Circuit of the Americas for the final six rounds of 2024.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner did confirm to Sky Sports F1 in Singapore on Friday that they would use the extended break before the US GP on October 20 - which is the first of a triple-header of races in the Americas - to "consider all those options" at their disposal.
Horner also stated that "sometimes difficult decisions have to be made" in relation to assessing Lawson's potential again, 12 months on from the 22-year-old's impressive five-race stint as stand-in for a then-injured Ricciardo.
"These things are under constant review and there is obviously a much bigger picture other than just Daniel as we continue to look at all of our options as we move forward," said Horner.
"There's a natural break coming, with effectively almost a month's gap to the next race. It's only natural that you'll take stock and consider all of those options for the final part of the year.
"It's not to the detriment of Daniel. We know how he's performed. We've got a lot of data, a lot of knowledge of where Daniel is. It's a much bigger picture within the whole driver merry-go-round of what the future looks like.
"Inevitably, we'll sit down during this three-week period of off time and consider all of those options."
And on Lawson specifically, Horner added: "Liam, the job that he did for us last year in the RB, was very impressive.
"We took experience over that because Daniel was our banker for if Sergio [Perez] were to drop the ball. And Daniel's had a reasonable season but it hasn't been a stellar year.
"Now the question is, how good is Liam? And sometimes difficult decisions have to be made in order to get those answers. We'll sit down with all of those options available to us during the three-week gap."
Just six races remain in Formula 1 2024 and the season resumes with the United States Grand Prix in Austin from October 18-20, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
