Inside Daniel Ricciardo’s exit: 2am meetings, a ‘terrible moment’, and a ‘wish’ granted

The way that Red Bull and VCARB handled the final race of Daniel Ricciardo received great scrutiny, but they were only going along with his “wish”.

That is the claim made by VCARB CEO Peter Bayer, as he addressed the unusual ordeal that was Ricciardo’s final race with the team.

Daniel Ricciardo did not want Red Bull exit announced

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

Rumours were swirling going into the Singapore Grand Prix that this would be Ricciardo’s final race at VCARB, yet no official confirmation arrived, even if all the signs throughout the race weekend pointed to the speculation being true. The announcement came in the days following the Singapore GP, as did the reveal that all parties knew in Singapore that this was coming.

So, why was the news not broken in Singapore? Ricciardo, an eight-time race winner and one of F1’s most popular personalities, did not get an official farewell.

According to Bayer, Ricciardo wanted it that way.

“We had agreed with Daniel that we would not communicate it,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“We knew that we would look a bit outdated as a team. But we also did it to protect the driver. It was his wish.”

Bayer also claims that Ricciardo had not accepted the decision to axe him as final.

“He believed right to the end that he would finish at the front in qualifying and show everyone,” said Bayer. “I’ve never seen such mental strength in an athlete. And I’ve been in a lot of sports.

“It was a terrible moment when he exited in Q1. You could already hear on the radio that his world had collapsed.

“We then spoke to him again on Saturday. We sat together in our office at two o’clock in the morning and asked him what we should do now. He then told us that we should just let him drive the race. He just didn’t want any nonsense.”

In an ideal world, Ricciardo would have left after the Abu Dhabi F1 2024 season finale, treated to a grand send-off.

“As a team, we put ourselves in front of him,” Bayer added. “If Daniel had driven all the way to Abu Dhabi, then of course we would have celebrated his farewell with fireworks and a photo on the grid, just like [Kimi] Räikkönen back then.

“That’s what everyone would have wanted.”

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Among the critics of how Ricciardo’s exit played out was Red Bull’s reigning three-time World Champion Max Verstappen, who had Ricciardo as his Red Bull team-mate from 2016-18.

Speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, in Austin, Verstappen said: “I think it was quite clear for me, for Daniel that that was the last race.

“From my side, I think it could have been handled a bit differently.

“Also for him, because he knew it, but he can’t say it exactly. It’s a bit of a shame you know.

“He’s done a lot for F1. He’s won races. He has had incredible races. I think it deserved a nicer exit.”

Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson stepped up to see out F1 2024 as Ricciardo’s VCARB replacement, as the Kiwi auditions for an F1 2025 seat with the junior squad, or perhaps even Red Bull.

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