Martin Brundle ‘half-hearted and confusing’ verdict as Daniel Ricciardo faces F1 exit

Red Bull are set to swing the axe on Daniel Ricciardo

Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle has accused Red Bull and VCARB of giving Daniel Ricciardo a “rather half-hearted and confusing” farewell at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo appeared to contest his final F1 race in Singapore last weekend amid mounting rumours that he will be replaced at VCARB by Liam Lawson, Red Bull’s highly rated reserve driver, ahead of the next race in the United States.

Martin Brundle left ‘confused’ by Daniel Ricciardo’s Singapore GP farewell

The 35-year-old cut an emotional figure at the end of the race at Marina Bay, where he was treated to a guard of honour as he returned to the VCARB team’s hospitality unit in the paddock.

Ricciardo has been one of the most prominent drivers of the last decade, enjoying a successful five-year spell with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018 before stints with Renault and McLaren.

Having been dropped by McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, Ricciardo has largely disappointed since his return with VCARB (then AlphaTauri) in  July 2023, scoring points just four times in 26 starts.

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With Ricciardo’s exit yet to be officially confirmed, the Australian was left to field questions about his future throughout the Singapore GP weekend, admitting after the race that the “fairytale ending” of a return to Red Bull Racing was no longer on the cards.

Writing in his Sky F1 column, Brundle was left confused by Ricciardo’s low-key departure with question marks still hanging over his future.

He said: “It was Daniel’s last race in F1 for a while and perhaps forever. It was a rather half-hearted and confusing exit from the team perspective.

“The fans rewarded him with driver of the day as a farewell present and that leaves him with a tally of 257 starts, eight wins, three poles and 32 podiums. And an awful lot of smiles and happy fans.

“Well done and good luck to him whatever happens next, he’s a quality guy and world-class driver.”

Having impressed in a five-race for an injured Ricciardo in mid-2023, recording AlphaTauri’s best result up that point of the season in Singapore, Lawson has been pushing for a permanent seat with VCARB for F1 2025.

PlanetF1.com understands that a clause in his contract would have allowed the 22-year-old to cut ties entirely with Red Bull if he was not promoted for next season, with Helmut Marko revealing earlier this year that shareholders are keen to see VCARB return to its Toro Rosso roots as a team to train young drivers.

With lingering doubts over the future of Sergio Perez, who came close to being dropped by Red Bull prior to the summer break, Brundle feels Lawson has a chance to put himself in contention to become Max Verstappen’s team-mate for F1 2025 with a strong end to this season.

He added: “Liam Lawson will take over [Ricciardo’s] VCARB from Austin and it’s his chance to prove he should be on the 2025 grid in either of the two Red Bull teams.”

Brundle’s comments come after Ricciardo insisted that he has no interest in returning to a reserve driver role with Red Bull, conceding that he can no longer keep up with the younger drivers on grid, partly due to advances in technology assisting the development of fresh talent.

He told reporters in Singapore: “Obviously, last year [a reserve role] made a lot of sense to keep one foot in the door and obviously the big picture was to try and get back at Red Bull.

“I think if I was to do that again, there’s not really [much point]. I’m not going to restart my career.

“I’m also 35 and I still showed the pace that I’ve had over the years, but it’s obviously been evident that it’s been harder for me to show it every weekend.

“And maybe that is a little bit of an age thing. I think it definitely came easier for me when I was 25 as opposed to 35, but also maybe the competition is just increasing.

“I think that’s probably a common thing with all sports: simulators are getting better, the kids are getting younger, so naturally they’re [more prepared].

“And they have access to all the onboards now, so they can watch and study everyone.

“So maybe it’s just that the level’s increased and it’s probably a tall task for me to fight at that level week in, week out.

“I can’t be disappointed with that. I’m happy that, once upon a time, I could do it and that was a lot of fun.

“And if this is it, I want to make sure I walk away or leave the sport with good memories of it and it doesn’t get into that place where it’s just a grind and I’m out in Q1 every weekend.

“That’s obviously not fun.”

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