Red Bull blasted for ‘shambolic’ handling of Daniel Ricciardo’s VCARB exit

Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career appears to be over after being dropped by Red Bull VCARB

Although Red Bull had “reasons to justify” dropping Daniel Ricciardo from the VCARB seat, Australian F1 reporter Michael Lamonato says their handling of the situation was “shambolic”.

Ricciardo spent much of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend batting questions that it was to be his last race as, not for the first time this season, rumours about his future swirled.

Red Bull’s treatment of Daniel Ricciardo branded ‘unbelievable’

This time though, they had unprecedented volume.

But Ricciardo could not confirm or deny as it appeared he himself didn’t know, until he was informed by team boss Christian Horner in a face-to-face meeting before the Grand Prix.

Ricciardo bowed out by setting the fastest lap of the race, assisting Max Verstappen by denying his title rival Lando Norris the fastest point.

And yet still there was no word from Red Bull, although there were signs with Ricciardo sitting pensive in his VCARB in parc ferme at the end of the race, the guard of honour he received, and him being the very last driver to leave the paddock that night.

As the speculation continued, VCARB eventually announced on Thursday, four days after Singapore, that Lawson would replace Ricciardo with immediate effect.

Lamonato says while he understands the decision, he doesn’t believe Ricciardo’s exit was handled in the right manner.

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“I find this whole thing almost unbelievable,” the Pit Talk host said as per Fox Sport. “We’re talking about an eight-time grand prix winner. Seven of those wins came with Red Bull Racing during what we sometimes forget was a pretty fallow inter-title era for Red Bull.

“In that time he comfortably made himself one of the biggest stars in the sport — that was before Drive to Survive. He was one of the first Formula 1 drivers to really crack the United States, which is remarkable considering the sport’s history there before Drive to Survive. Netflix then cemented him as, for want of a better phrase, an F1 main character. He is one of the guys.

“While Red Bull has given a lot to Daniel undoubtedly — it gave him his Formula 1 chance, it brought him up through a couple of years of junior racing as well and gave him his second chance, in fact, when I think a lot of people didn’t think he’d get one — he also gave a lot back to this brand, including those wins.

“His dedication to the reserve driver role at the start of last year … was always professional. He committed to it hard. Likewise, his second stint in the cockpit — he committed to that immensely. His brand played a massive role in bringing two enormous sponsors to both teams in Visa and Cash App.

“I don’t object to him being let go early, because there are reasons to justify that. I just don’t get how a social media post between races while Daniel’s sitting on his farm in Perth justifies that career status.”

In a world dominated by marketing and brand awareness, he called it “shambolic” on Red Bull’s part.

“I’m really surprised with Red Bull in particular because this was the brand — to give it its full credit — that before Liberty Media arrived essentially was the F1 marketing department,” he said.

“Red Bull was what made F1 grow in the decade before Liberty Media rocked up because they were so good at this stuff. This is what they did. It’s part of the reason Ricciardo was such a big star, because he was one of the few stars that had a team behind him backing him, and that was such a big deal.

“That’s what I find almost most surprising about this — that’s its Red Bull that has managed to badly handle this. I’d expect this from half a dozen other teams, but from Red Bull it’s surprising.

“I know there’s no room for sentiment in Formula 1 — it’s performance at the end of the day — but this is just such a massive own goal for the Red Bull organisation, the way this has been handled, and if I were Formula 1, I’d be pretty disappointed by this saga.

“It’s not in F1’s hands at the end of the day, but you’ve seen — again I use the phrase — a main character ushered off stage quietly. Fans are going to tune in at Austin and it’s going to be a different driver there.

“I just think the whole thing has come across — and I know there will be reasons for it and there’ll be justifications for it — as so shambolic.”

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