He did just that.
RB team principal Laurent Mekies issued a statement thanking Ricciardo.
“He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit,” he wrote.
Daniel Ricciardo was always a popular driver in the circus that is F1.Credit: AP
“Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.”
The 22-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson, 13 years younger than Ricciardo, was immediately drafted in as a replacement for the final six races of the season.
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Ricciardo made his F1 debut in 2011 and claimed three poles and eight victories over 258 grands prix. He finished third in the championship in 2014 and 2016 while at Red Bull, as well as driving for HRT, Renault, McLaren and Red Bull ‘sister’ teams, Toro Rosso and Alpha Tauri, now RB.
The last of his eight wins came at Monza in 2021 with McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix, but it wasn’t enough to make up for an otherwise underwhelming stay with the British team. He left after the 2022 season when he was replaced by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo has been consistently outdriven at RB since by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, and is 14th in this year’s drivers’ standings, 10 points behind the Japanese in 12th.
Source Agencies
