Shake up in F1: Ricciardo out, Lawson in

SINGAPORE: Red Bull dropped eight-time grand prix winner Daniel Ricciardo on Thursday, opting for Liam Lawson to race in his stead for the remainder of the season.

The Singapore Grand Prix (GP) last Sunday was likely the last race that Ricciardo will ever have in F1. He finished 18^thbut was able to take home the fastest lap in the last lap of the race, and what has now become the last lap of his career.

Ricciardo was racing for Red Bull’s sister squad, Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team, formerly Scuderia Alpha Tauri, after replacing Nyck de Vries at the 2023 Hungarian GP. The Australian began mid-season after struggling in 2022 at McLaren.

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Ricciardo earned his last victory at McLaren in 2021 at the Italian GP, which was the team’s first win in nearly nine years. Since then McLaren has steadily improved, becoming a top contender to win the constructors championship in 2024. During the same time, Ricciardo has undeniably regressed, taking home only 37 points in the 2022 season and six points from the seven races he competed in during the 2023 season.

Teammate Yuki Tsuonoda has been outperforming Ricciardo throughout the season. Despite not finishing the Azerbaijan and Italian GP’s and placing lower than Ricciardo in the Belgian and Hungarian GP’s, the Japanese driver has taken 22 points in the season so far, ten more than his teammate.

The 35-year-old started in all 18 races this season, but only earned 12 points, leading to the announcement on Thursday that Liam Lawson would be replacing him.

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“Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work,” said Team Principal Laurent Mekies, adding that “he will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.”

New Zealand’s Lawson has replaced Ricciardo before, racing for RB before during the 2023 season in five outings after Ricciardo broke his hand.

The reserve driver finished ninth at the 2023 Singapore GP. He has won five races in FIA Formula 2 and taken 13 podiums. He finished third in the F2 2022 Drivers’ Championship.

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Team Principal Laurent Mekies welcomed Lawson saying “he drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition.”