Goodbye Daniel Ricciardo
Image found on F1.com
The rumours had been going around for a while, but it is now official: Daniel Ricciardo is leaving Formula 1. I had expected it to happen at the end of 2023, but I guess Red Bull didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. I guess saying goodbye is very difficult for them, considering they only announced Ricciardo’s departure after the Grand Prix of Singapore. While it is sad to see him go, I feel like Ricciardo’s career ended when he chose to leave Red Bull.
I was first introduced to Ricciardo when I started watching Formula 1 in 2016. That year, there was a real hype around Max Verstappen in the Netherlands, especially when he got promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull and was seated next to Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo was in his prime, winning at least one race every season in a car that was not the most dominant. However, it quickly became clear that Verstappen was an amazing talent and that Red Bull had chosen him to lead them to championships in the future. Understandably, Ricciardo felt moved to the side and decided to switch teams. His first big mistake. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand why Ricciardo wanted to leave Red Bull, considering they were slowly making Verstappen their number one driver. However, i do feel like during those years, Red Bull were quite honest and fair with their drivers. Their drivers were equal at the start of the season, and once the races really started counting for the championship, they decided who would get the priority. To me, Ricciardo leaving the team felt like he was backing away from a fight. He perhaps also expected too much from the other big teams. There is no way that Renault was his first choice. It was a ridiculous choice as well. In Drive to Survive, Ricciardo explains that he wanted to leave Red Bull partly because the car was unreliable. And sure, he was right. But the biggest reason for the car being unreliable was the engine: a Renault engine.
Leaving Renault after only two years and going to McLaren, who were performing really well, also shows that Ricciardo does not really understand the technical side of Formula 1. He wasn’t able to predict which team would be able to improve, and was also not willing to stay with them for a longer period of time to help them get to the top. He went to McLaren only after he saw they were improving, even though he had had the opportunity to join the team two years earlier. And while he said he believed in Renault and wanted to help them get back to the top, he didn’t succeed and left them to figure it out themselves.
Still, I do not think Ricciardo is a bad driver. Even at McLaren, his potential sometimes did come through. What I do think his career shows is that he has a very particular driving style, which perfectly fitted the Red Bull. Unfortunately for him, he was never able to really adapt his driving style, especially not at McLaren. And I do feel like that is quite an important skill for a driver. First and foremost, a driver has to be fast. However, they also need to adapt. They are given a car and they have to make that car work. If they don’t, it is no surprise that a team would not want to continue with that diver.
Ricciardo was very fortunate that Red Bull was willing to save him. Or perhaps ‘save is a bit too dramatic, but making him the 3rd driver (why don’t just call it a reserve driver?) was very generous of them. Red Bull kicking out Nyck de Vries to give Ricciardo the seat was also perhaps more than Ricciardo deserved. While I don’t think De Vries would have ever had the same speed as, for example, Tsunoda. I do feel like he deserved a full season to show his full potential. And Ricciardo himself wasn’t even able to drive too many races before he broke his hand and Liam Lawson had to replace him. What Lawson showed was extremely impressive. He was almost immediately putting down the same times as Tsunoda, who is insanely fast, and was even able to outqualify both Red Bulls during the Grand Prix of Singapore in 2023. With Lawson immediately able to perform, and Ricciardo only driving two races for the team, it felt weird to me that Red Bull decided very early on who was getting the second seat at Visa Cash App RB. In my opinion, they should have at least waited until the end of the season. That way, they would really be able to compare Lawson and Ricciardo and decide who is the best driver for the seat.
I am of the opinion that Lawson deserves the seat at Visa Cash App RB more than Ricciardo does. However, kicking Ricciardo out halfway through the season and announcing his departure during a month-long break just feels wrong. I feel like Red Bull could’ve handled the situation better. While Ricciardo might not be as fast as he once was, he has done so much for Red Bull. He deserves a better goodbye.
