Sep 27, 2024, 00:12 ET
Red Bull decided to replace the Australian with Liam Lawson starting with the United States GP and said goodbye to Formula 1 on its networks.
“In recent years he has tried, but that killer instinct had disappeared,” said Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s strongman, after announcing Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from the Racing Bull team immediately. Six days before the end of the 2024 financial year, the leaders of the energy drinks team decided to lay off the Australian and promote Liam Lawson, who held the reserve position until the last Singapore GP.
The Australian achieved eight wins in 257 races in F1. EPA
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The Australian used his social networks to leave his farewell message to Formula 1, although his departure was already an open secret in the competition in the Marina Bay area. So much so that after the race he became emotional while speaking to the media. Ricciardo had been informed before the start of the Singapore weekend that his departure was a fact. At least, his last race closed with an achievement: he set the lap record, took it from Lando Norris and thus helped Max Verstappen, because he left the Englishman without the point for the fastest lap.
“I have always loved this sport. It’s wild, it’s wonderful and it’s been an incredible journey,” Ricciardo posted. “To the teams and people who have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love this sport sometimes more than I do, thank you. It will always have its ups and downs, but it’s been fun and, to be honest, I wouldn’t change a thing. Until the next adventure”closed the Australian.
Ricciardo debuted in the defunct Spanish team HRT in 2011. In 2012 he moved to Toro Rosso and his good performances led him to make the jump to Red Bull in 2014 as Sebastian Vettel’s teammate. With the Austrian team he achieved seven successes, including in Monaco 2018 and finished third in the 2014 and 2016 championships. In search of new challenges and with the intention of earning the position of number 1 driver, he went to Renault in 2019. In the Rombo He encountered a car that could not catch fire in the fight ahead and barely rescued a couple of podiums in the 2020 season, disrupted by Covid-19. For 2021 he opted for another change: he put on the clothes of McLaren, the team with which he would achieve victory in the 2021 Italian GP, his last victory.
Unmotivated and far from the level he had years ago, Zak Brown decided to cut him at the end of 2022. Christian Horner, director of Red Bull and very fond of the Australian, rescued him from ostracism and placed him as a reserve. His constant good humor helped the Englishman have a good atmosphere within the team and, in addition, he had a great entertainer for promotional events, those that Verstappen prefers to avoid. Nyck de Vries’ poor results in Alpha Tauri accelerated his departure and promoted Ricciardo. They hoped he had regained the killer instinct Marko talked about. The return was overshadowed by the Zandvoort accident in which he fractured his wrist and had to stop five races, in which Lawson replaced him. The New Zealander had a great run in those competitions and a strong candidate emerged to occupy a starting position given the first drop in performance of the starters.
Ricciardo was never the same again. He went from being a possible replacement for Checo Pérez in the main team to having to leave six dates before the end of 2024 to leave Lawson’s position.. “From the moment you arrived at Red Bull it was obvious that you were much more than just a driver. Your continued enthusiasm, sense of humor and attitude will leave an indelible legacy on the team, here in Milton Keynes and on F1 as a whole. Thank you for the wins, smiles, songs (and I wish I could say the shoes), you will always be a special part of the Red Bull family. Eight wins, 32 podiums, 1,329 points. These statistics and accolades are not the only measure of who you are and what you have accomplished. Thank you Daniel”, was Horner’s message to say goodbye to Ricciardo.
Lawson will be in Austin with the Racing Bulls and will continue in 2025. For the New Zealander it is about fulfilling a dream since he was a child and for which he fought hard together with his family. The father, Jared, even sold a house to pay for Liam’s karting campaign. He used his sister’s VW Polo, Jess, to practice stopped games with the clutch, all under the tutelage of his father, who was also his coach. She left school to move alone to Europe when she was a 15-year-old teenager. Complicated with the budget, he had to return to New Zealand at 17 to race in the 2019 Toyota Racing Series. In the first race of the year, Marko was in the stands, looking for talent. The rest is written history. Lawson joined the ranks of energy drinks and in Austin he will start in F1.
