Daniel Ricciardo is set to leave Formula 1 for the second and potentially final time after the Singapore Grand Prix.
Former long-time F1 star-turned pundit Ralf Schumacher announced the bombshell news.
Ricciardo is set for another F1 farewellGetty
There had already been rumblings that Ricciardo’s time was coming to an end, but Schumacher has now confirmed as much to Sky Germany, revealing that Liam Lawson will replace him at VCARB F1 Team for the remainder of the season.
New Zealander Lawson subbed in for Ricciardo last year after a wrist injury and hugely impressed in his five-race stint, picking up two points in Singapore.
However, he was left heartbroken when VCARB’s parent team, Red Bull Racing, opted to stick with their current stable of four drivers.
That saw Sergio Perez continue alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, and Ricciardo partner with Yuki Tsunoda at VCARB.
Schumacher went on to reveal that the decision has to be taken now due to a contractual clause that means Lawson would be free to leave the team if he wasn’t given a seat.
“The driver change was part of Lawson’s contract,” the Sky pundit said. “Otherwise they would have lost him.”
He added: “It’s a shame for Daniel, because we’ll be missing a driver who is super nice, always has a smile and who you like to meet in the paddock.”
The sentiment will be echoed by much of the fan base, who have grown to love Ricciardo, a star of the Netflix sensation Drive to Survive.
The Australian’s career has been intensely followed by the series, who covered his move from Red Bull to Renault in detail, and then his switch to McLaren.
A nine-time race winner, Ricciardo was completely dominated by Lando Norris in his two years with McLaren, which ended with the British squad buying out the remainder of his contract in order to land countryman Oscar Piastri.
Lawson is set to return to actionGetty
It looked like that might be the end of Ricciardo’s F1 career, but he instead returned a year later with VCARB predecessor Alpha Tauri, who opted to call time on Nyck de Vries just ten races into the season.
Ricciardo would record a season-best result of seventh, and has three point-scoring finishes in 2024.
However, this term he has just 12 points to teammate Tsunoda’s 22, and should this exit come to fruition, it’s unlikely that the 35-year-old will find his way back onto the grid again.
