Why didn’t Red Bull announce before the Singapore Grand Prix that the decision had been made to do without Daniel Ricciardo for the end of the season at RB F1?
This open secret deprived the Australian of a weekend to say goodbye properly. But, according to Dr Helmut Marko, it was not possible to do otherwise, as he explains in his column for Speedweek.
“Daniel Ricciardo’s departure was only announced after the race weekend in Singapore for compelling reasons related to commercial agreements,” assures the Austrian.
“He himself was informed in time and – to put it this way – he is at peace with himself. I also think that the fastest lap he completed was a worthy farewell performance. “
On the reasons for his ouster, Marko is direct while defending Red Bull.
“He was given a second chance that no one else would have given him. And it was done on the basis that a return to Red Bull Racing was possible if the performances are up to par. The RB F1 team was only ever intended as a stopover But the necessary performance has only broken out twice, once with a fourth place in the Miami sprint this year and last year in Mexico.
“But otherwise, that speed wasn’t there, and the consistency wasn’t there either. He lacked all the performances that would have justified a promotion to Red Bull Racing. But that was the goal of his entire season. .”
“If we had known why his performance wasn’t up to par, we would have done everything we could to change it. But the same killer instinct just wasn’t apparent anymore. He was famous for his overtaking and braking without compromise. But that was no longer the case either.
RB F1 will therefore give Liam Lawson a chance again, who impressed last year. The latter is confirmed until the end of 2024. But then? Horner revealed that this was indeed an audition for Lawson, for 2025. For RB F1 or, why not, Red Bull Racing?
“Liam Lawson can now compete in the final six rounds of the World Championship for the RB F1 team,” it’s Marko.
“We will assess how he compares to Yuki Tsunoda and then see what happens next. He needs to put in a performance worthy of Formula 1, as he has done in his previous GP appearances.”
“We have other strong juniors in the youth team, like Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar.”
“The GP appearances of Oliver Bearman and especially Franco Colapinto have shown that young people are ready to be promoted and that the old philosophy of some team bosses according to which you can only promote drivers with three or four years of experience “Experience in a top team is outdated. Mercedes has now proven this with its decision on Antonelli, just as Red Bull Racing has done many times in the past.”
“So you can rely on the youth. It’s a bit risky, but it’s manageable and it’s worth it. You have to give the boys a chance to prove themselves in an F1 after they come through the ranks.”
