Daniel Ricciardo had a big part to play in his unceremonious Formula 1 exit, his team’s former CEO has claimed.
The Australian made his second and final F1 exit in September when Red Bull’s sister team, VCARB, dropped him for academy driver Liam Lawson.
However, it wasn’t as straightforward as that.
Very strong rumours circulated throughout the Singapore Grand Prix that the eight-time race-winner was competing at his final race, but no official statement was forthcoming.
Instead, it was left to Ricciardo to all-but-confirm his departure in some teary interviews with the media on Sunday night, but it still took four more days until his exit was officially confirmed by the team.
Given Ricciardo’s reputation as one of the best-ever drivers to never become world champion, let alone his status as one of the sport’s biggest personalities, the lack of a proper farewell was seen as disrespectful by many.
However, VCARB CEO Peter Bayer has now said it was Ricciardo’s decision not to confirm his departure until after the weekend.
“We had agreed with Daniel that we would not communicate it,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “We knew that we would look a bit outdated as a team. But we also did it to protect the driver. It was his wish.
“He believed right to the end that he would finish at the front in qualifying and show everyone.
“I’ve never seen such mental strength in an athlete. And I’ve been in a lot of sports.”
However, Ricciardo’s hopes of leaving on a high were soon ended when he failed to make it out of the first stage of qualifying.
The 35-year-old put his car 16th on the grid, and to make matters worse, teammate Yuki Tsuonda was up in eighth.
Speaking about that moment, Bayer continued: “It was a terrible moment when he exited in Q1. You could already hear on the radio that his world had collapsed.
“We then spoke to him again on Saturday. We sat together in our office at two o’clock in the morning and asked him what we should do now.
“He then told us that we should just let him drive the race. He just didn’t want any nonsense.”
Things got worse for Ricciardo in the race as he ended up last of all the finishers in 18th. He also pitted to steal a fastest lap point from Red Bull rival Lando Norris which caused some controversy.
Reflecting on the awkward goodbye, Bayer said: “As a team, we put ourselves in front of him.
“If Daniel had driven all the way to Abu Dhabi, then of course we would have celebrated his farewell with fireworks and a photo on the grid, just like [Kimi] Raikkonen back then.
“That’s what everyone would have wanted.”
However, Bayer did point out that his team gave Ricciardo a chance no one else did by inviting him back onto the grid in 2023 after he’d been bought-out of his McLaren contract.
“We gave him another chance that nobody thought possible,” the Austrian surmised. “It was important for us that at the end of the day we could look in the mirror and say that we did it right. Even if the whole world and his nine million Instagram fans were bashing us.”
