F1 world reacts to Daniel Ricciardo's exit

09/27/2024 03:00 PM

Daniel Ricciardo may be out of Formula One (F1) – his Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) team confirming the news days after he raced in the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix – but the Australian's career has been widely praised by competitors and fans alike.

Ricciardo took to social media to confirm the widely-rumoured speculation – which proved correct – that he would be dropped from his drive and replaced by rising New Zealand star Liam Lawson for the next race in the US.

While his team issued a standard ‘thank you’ statement, Ricciardo's beaming smile and popularity has seen masses of support for the driver –nicknamed 'The Honey Badger' – for his contribution both on and off track during his time in F1.

Mercedes-AMG driver Lewis Hamilton – statistically the most successful driver F1 history – took to his own Instagram account to acknowledge Ricciardo.

“It's been an honour to compete with you over the years,” Hamilton wrote. “I'll never forget the battles, the laughs and drinking out of your shoe. It was gross, but glad I got to do it with you bud.”

Ricciardo also had a strong relationship with former Red Bull Racing team-mate and current world champion Max Verstappen, who praised the Australian over the challenging Singapore race weekend.

“Daniel and I of course go a long way back – we have always had a great relationship, great friendship, a lot of respect for each other as well, so he's just a great guy,” Verstappen said on Sky F1.

“[We] get on well, it just clicks. There is no fake person, we just get along and are easy-going, we are like that. He will for sure be remembered as a very fast driver, I think everyone knows that, but also as a great guy in the paddock.”

Fellow drivers also left messages of support, including Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly and George Russell.

“F1 won't be the same without you, Daniel. Thank you for everything you did for our sport. Australia is incredibly proud of you,” the official Australian Grand Prix social media channel posted.

Ricciardo leaves F1 after 257 Grands Prix – the tenth-most in history – and eight Grand Prix victories, one less than fellow Australian Mark Webber, but more than Sergio Perez (six wins) who he was hoping to replace at Red Bull and continues to drive for the top team.

Of the current drivers on the F1 grid, Ricciardo is beaten by Hamilton – who tops the all-time list with 105 wins – followed by Max Verstappen (61), Fernando Alonso (42) and Valtteri Bottas (10 victories).

Ricciardo also won more than legendary drivers including Juan Pablo Montoya, Gilles Villeneuve – who was killed during his career – Dan Gurney and Bruce McLaren, the New Zealander who formed the McLaren team in 1966 and was also killed in a racing crash at age 32.

He is one of only five Australians to have won a Grand Prix – with 36 Australian victories since the current F1 championship started in 1950.

Three-times world champion Jack Brabham is the most successful Australian – recording 14 wins – followed by Alan Jones on 12 victories including the 1980 driver's title, sadly still the most recent for a local driver.

Webber, Ricciardo and most recently Oscar Piastri – having won his first two Grands Prix in 2024 during his second season in F1 after replacing Ricciardo at McLaren – split the remaining Australian wins.

Having made his first F1 start at the 2011 British Grand Prix, driving for the HRT Formula 1 Team, Ricciardo joined Red Bull Racing in 2014.

The Australian was under immediate pressure, driving alongside German Sebastian Vettel who had won four consecutive world championships between 2010-2013.

Yet Ricciardo shone, posting his first win at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix – after starting sixth – and added victory at the Hungarian and Belgian races that season, finishing third in the championship – 71 points and two places higher than Vettel.

The young Ricciardo won the 2015 Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year.

He was again third in 2016 during a season where he dominated the Monaco Grand Prix weekend before a pit-lane blunder cost him victory – after he was joined by a new team-mate for the previous race in Spain named Max Verstappen, who won on debut.

Ricciardo only won a single race in a season dominated by Mercedes but remained a stand-out.

“Few doubt the Australian is a potential world champion with a strong enough car, and he deserves more than the single victory in Malaysia that he has so far taken [in 2016],” said British motorsport title Autosport at the time.

Ricciardo and new team-mate Verstappen developed a healthy competitiveness – with mishaps including a dramatic crash at the Baku race in 2018 – with both drivers highly rated.

The Australian driver developed a reputation for being kind on tyres, but also had an innate ability to brake later – deeper – into a corner than other drivers, pulling off some memorable overtakes.

His win at the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix – again from sixth on the grid – is considered by many as Ricciardo’s finest 'late-braking master class', while he also took a belated Monaco win the same year.

Combined with his beaming smile and happy-go-lucky personality, Ricciardo gained a large following – with traditions such as the 'shoey', where drivers drink champagne from their own race boot during podium celebrations.

His move to Renault for 2019 and 2020 was seen by some as a mistake, but the Australian recorded several podiums for the team, famously winning a bet with team boss Cyril Abiteboul which saw the Frenchman getting a tattoo.

A move to McLaren in 2021 saw Ricciardo set for more glory – which did see his last win at Monza, Italy, in 2021 – but he was consistently beaten by team-mate Lando Norris and dropped at the end of 2022 before his contract had ended.

Ricciardo made a promising comeback with the team now known as Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) – but flashes of speed and a best-finish of fourth place weren't enough to convince the team to keep him on over younger talent.

Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull Racing, told German title Motorsport Total: “I think the decision to leave Red Bull Racing was the turning point in his career.

“Then he didn’t have a winning car at either Renault or McLaren. He did win at Monza, but those were special circumstances.”

“I don’t know what exactly happened, because if we knew, we would have helped him. But the speed and, above all, this late braking, and then he goes left or right … in these last few years he tried but it was no longer there, the killer instinct was gone.”

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