Results of the latest F1 race in Singapore may well have been the signal Liam Lawson was waiting for; Ricciardo was the last driver to cross the finish line in 18th.
Speculation is mounting that Lawson will take over from Ricciardo as the final seat in the RB team to be confirmed. And it could happen at the next GP.
McLaren’s Lando Norris powered to a crushing 20 sec win over Verstappen. That reduces his championship lead to 52 points with six races to go. At this stage, Verstappen can afford to finish second to Norris at each of the remaining six races, and still win the drivers’ title.
A late stop for Aussie Oscar Piastri allowed him to overtake the two Mercedes cars to fill the final step on the podium.
The result was a huge disappointment for the Australian Formula 1 star who set the fastest lap of the Singapore GP after pitting for fresh rubber. And for that he won the fans’ Driver of the Day award. He had also performed well in practice but qualifying was a disaster on soft tyres.
Ricciardo commented “I put my best foot forward and let’s say maybe the fairytale ending didn’t happen. But I also have to look back on what it’s been 13 or so years and, yeah, I’m proud.
“I’m at peace with it (the prospect of my F1 career ending) – at some point it comes for all of us.”
Interviewed ahead of the race, Red Bull’s Christian Horner was asked directly about Ricciardo’s future.
“Daniel has had a reasonable season, but it hasn’t been a stellar year.”
Regarding Lawson, “Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made to get those answers. We’ll sit down with all of those options available to us during this next three-week gap (before Austin, Texas).”
The United States Grand Prix at CoTA is the next event on the calendar, scheduled for October 18-20.
