RB team principal Laurent Mekies has acknowledged that the team harbours a sentiment of regret over how Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from Formula 1 was handled last month. Although no official announcement came until days after the Singapore Grand Prix, media reports about Ricciardo being replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the 2024 season were already floating around in the paddock before the weekend began.
With RB providing no confirmation that Singapore would be Ricciardo’s last race and both the team and the driver offering ambiguous responses to the questions posed by the media, his unceremonious exit during the autumn break denied the eight-time race winner the chance for an official send-off.
Fellow drivers called into question how RB had handled the delicate topic, with Max Verstappen, who was Ricciardo’s teammate at Red Bull from 2016 to 2018, stating that a driver of his stature deserved a nicer farewell.
“I think it was quite clear for me, for Daniel [Ricciardo], that that was the last race. From my side, I think it could have been handled a bit differently.
“Also for him, because he knew it, but he can’t say it exactly. It’s a bit of a shame you know.
“He’s done a lot for F1. He’s won races. He has had incredible races. I think it deserved a nicer exit.”
In the press conference ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Mekies was asked to address Verstappen’s comments regarding Ricciardo’s exit. Moreover, the media wanted the Frenchman to shed some light on whether he was frustrated at how he had to go along with the charade of pretending that no decision had been made in Singapore.
Confirming that Ricciardo was aware of and on board with the decision to push back the official announcement, Mekies acknowledged that the media strategy imposed on the Australian back in Singapore was not ideal.
Furthermore, confessing that it was indeed a frustrating scenario for the driver from a professional and personal standpoint and for the entire team to go along with that game, the 47-year-old implied that the Faenza-based outfit would handle the situation differently if they could turn back the clock.
“I think the answer is yes, it was frustrating, and yes, you’re right, it was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way.
“First of all for him, on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him.
“Yes, Daniel was aware. We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose together to go into that weekend without announcing. And from that point onwards, we had to deal with it.
“It’s a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently. But it’s something that we were, both the team and the drivers were on board to go through that.”
The overwhelming love and support that Ricciardo received from the Formula 1 community at large was not lost on Mekies, who expressed concern about whether a traditional farewell would’ve made the experience worse for the Perth native.
The RB team boss also paid a bold tribute to “The Honey Badger” and his enduring popularity in the sport, calling him “bigger than F1.”
“Now, I think in one way or another, we all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel, from the fans to Daniel. So I don’t know if it would have been better or worse.
“Certainly different, more traditional, but I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend was something outstanding and something that shows that he’s bigger than an F1 driver, he’s bigger than F1.”
