Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Formula One racer Daniel Ricciardo was released by Red Bull Racing on Thursday, and it was announced that Liam Lawson will slide into the driver’s seat immediately, taking his place on the team.
It was pretty clear that the 35-year-old’s days on the circuit were coming to an end – at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, he was called into the pits by his RB team before the final lap, giving the the Australian set the fastest lap of the race.
At the end of the race, he sat in his car for an unusual amount of time before walking through a throng of supporters who lined up to cheer him on. His post-race interviews were emotional, acknowledging that he may have finished his last race.
Red Bull, the owner of the RB team, made the news official on Thursday, announcing that 22-year-old Lawson will step in for Ricciardo for the US Grand Prix and beyond.
Lawson joined the Red Bull driver program five years ago and raced five times last year, covering for Ricciardo after he broke his hand in practice.
“I have loved this sport all my life. It’s wild and wonderful and it’s been a journey,” Ricciardo wrote in a farewell post on Instagram. “To the teams and individuals who have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you.
“It will always have its highs and its lows but it’s been fun to be honest I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure.”
Teammates, former teams and rivals flooded the comments on his Instagram post with well wishes.
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Seven times World Champion Lewis Hamilton said simply: “Legend.”
Hamilton’s current Mercedes team-mate George Russell added: “Going to lose your friend.”
The Silver Arrows Mercedes team sang in, too, thanking Ricciardo for his encouraging energy and the challenge he brought to the races.
“You have been an amazing competitor over the years,” the team wrote.
“Thank you for the many fun battles and the contagious energy you brought to our sport on and off the track. Enchanted Daniel.”
Ricciardo’s last Red Bull teammate and friend Max Verstappen replied: “Heads up mate! Many more beautiful moments to come.”
“Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work over the past two seasons with us,” RB team principal Laurent Mekies wrote in a statement. “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a great attitude, which has helped everyone develop and foster a tight team spirit.
“Daniel has been a very gentleman on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.”
Fans, however, were confused and frustrated that Red Bull would so unceremoniously let go of Ricciardo, widely regarded as one of F1’s nicest and most humble drivers.
“Not saying goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo is absolutely mystifying,” said one fan on X.
“The whole situation has been handled appallingly. Deserves a very final race, deserves to be able to talk about it openly so he can fully thank his fans. Total joke,” shared another.
“Shame. You should have given him a bye in the last race, or announced he was out for next year but kept him until the end of 2024. Don’t get the rush with Lawson right now but there you go,” agreed another.
Ricciardo won eight races over 14 seasons, with his last victory coming at Monza in 2021 when he won driving for McLaren. He was bought out of his McLaren contract after the 2022 season, and was hired to return to Red Bull as a team ambassador.
That led to seven races in 2023 with sister team Red Bull. Ricciardo got the seat full-time for 2024 but through 18 races he has only finished in the points three times.
His best championship finish was third in 2014 and 2016 – both years when Mercedes dominated the season and Ricciardo, then at Red Bull, was effectively the best of the rest.
Gradually when Verstappen arrived at Red Bull midway through the 2016 season Ricciardo moved into a supporting role. His career came to a halt after moving to Renault in 2019, and after switching to McLaren in 2021, he was largely surpassed by Norris.
FILE – Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing during the first free practice session of the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix at the Hungarian circuit, in Mogyorod, northeast of Budapest, Hungary, on July 27, 2018.
Canadian Press
Ricciardo made a lasting impact on F1 as one of the faces of the sport’s US boom driven by Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. But he has shown no interest in moving to American motorsport, and said in Singapore last weekend that IndyCar racing on ovals “terrifies” him.
He doesn’t know what’s next.
“When I started F1, everyone knew me as the happy guy and the nice guy, but I have a killer instinct,” he said in the first episode filmed during the 2018 season. “I believe I can be world champion and to me it’s like, ‘Why else would I do this?'”
Lawson joins Yuki Tsunoda at RB to finish the season.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season, and he coped well under difficult circumstances, so it will be a natural transition,” Mekies said. “It’s great to see young talent within the Red Bull family take the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.”
– With files from The Associated Press
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10777128/daniel-ricciardo-fired-red-bull-formula-one/
