F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo sacked by Red Bull, leaving fans outraged – National

Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was released by Red Bull Racing on Thursday and it was announced that Liam Lawson will immediately take the wheel and replace him in the team.

It was pretty clear that the 35-year-old’s days on the track were coming to an end – at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix he was called into the pits by his RB team ahead of the final lap, giving the Australian the opportunity om set the fastest lap of the race.

At the end of the race, he sat in his car for an unusually long time before walking through a gauntlet of supporters who lined up to applaud him. His post-race interviews were emotional and acknowledged that he may have concluded his last race.

Red Bull, owner of the RB team, made the news official on Thursday, announcing that 22-year-old Lawson will take Ricciardo’s place for the US Grand Prix and beyond.

Lawson joined the Red Bull driver program five years ago and raced five times last year, replacing Ricciardo after he broke his hand in training.

“I have loved this sport all my life. It’s wild and beautiful and it’s been a journey,” Ricciardo wrote in one farewell post on Instagram. “To the teams and individuals who played their part: thank you very much. To the fans who sometimes love the sport more than I do haha, thank you.

“It will always have its highs and lows, but it was fun and honestly I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure.”

Teammates, former teams and rivals all flooded the comments on his Instagram post with well wishes.

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Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton put it simply: “Legend.”

Hamilton’s current Mercedes teammate George Russell added: “I’m going to miss you mate.”

Mercedes’ Silver Arrows team also took part and thanked Ricciardo for his high energy and the challenge he brought during the races.

“You have been an incredible competitor over the years,” the team wrote.

“Thank you for the many fun battles and the infectious energy you brought to our sport both on and off the court. Enchanted Daniel.”

Ricciardo’s last Red Bull teammate and friend Max Verstappen replied: “Head up mate! There will be many wonderful 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 boss Laurent Mekies wrote in a statement. “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitudewhich has helped everyone develop and nurture a strong team spirit.

“Daniel has been a true gentleman both 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.”

However, fans were left baffled and frustrated that Red Bull would so unceremoniously drop Ricciardo, widely regarded as one of the nicest and most humble F1 drivers.

“It’s not a good farewell to Daniel Ricciardo downright puzzling”, a fan commented on X.

“The whole situation is over treated shamefully. He deserved a real final race, deserved to be able to talk about it openly, so that he could fully thank his fans. Absolute joke,” said another.

“Shame. You should have said a proper farewell to him at the last race, or announced he’ll be away next year but kept him until the end of 2024. Don’t rush Lawson now, but here you go,” one agreed other.

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Ricciardo won eight races in fourteen seasons, with his final win at Monza in 2021 when he won for McLaren. He was bought out of his McLaren deal after the 2022 season and was hired to return to Red Bull as a team ambassador.

This led to seven races with Red Bull’s sister team in 2023. Ricciardo was given the seat full-time for 2024, but in eighteen races he only finished within the points three times.

His best finish in the championship was third in 2014 and 2016 – both years in which Mercedes dominated the season and Ricciardo, then at Red Bull, was effectively the best of the rest.

With the arrival of Verstappen at Red Bull halfway through the 2016 season, Ricciardo gradually took on a supporting role. His career came to a standstill after a move to Renault in 2019, and after moving to McLaren in 2021 he was largely outclassed by Norris.

Ricciardo has had a lasting impact on F1 as one of the faces of the sport’s boom in the United States, powered by Netflix. Drive to survive series. But he has shown no interest in moving to American motorsports, saying last weekend in Singapore that racing IndyCar on ovals “scared” him.

He doesn’t know what’s next.

“When I came into F1, everyone knew me as a cheerful and nice guy, but I do have a killer instinct,” he said in the first episode recorded during the 2018 season. “I really believe I can become world champion and for me it’s like, ‘Why else would I do this?’”

Lawson joins Yuki Tsunoda at RB to close out the season.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He rode for us last season and did well in difficult conditions, so it will be a natural transition,” said Mekies. “It’s great to see young talent from the Red Bull family taking the next step. We look forward to putting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.”

— With files from The Associated Press

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