VCARB boss’ ominous ‘may have been last race’ explanation for Daniel Ricciardo fastest lap

Daniel Ricciardo is not giving up on continuing with VCARB next season

As Daniel Ricciardo potentially had his final say on the F1 standings, even his VCARB team boss Laurent Mekies admits the Singapore GP “may have been” Ricciardo’s final race.

Despite Red Bull bosses making the call to continue with Ricciardo after the summer break, as they did with Sergio Perez at the senior Red Bull team, the Aussie’s failure to score a single point has led to widespread speculation that this is it.

VCARB boss admits ‘may have been’ Daniel Ricciardo’s last race

Rumours that he could be replaced before the season is over intensified in the build-up to the Singapore Grand Prix, fuel added to the fire by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner who spoke only of the “bigger picture” when asked about the speculation.

He did so again on Sunday night after Ricciardo made what could’ve been his final stand for the Red Bull family when he denied Max Verstappen’s title rival Lando Norris the fastest lap point at the Singapore Grand Prix with a late charge for purple.

Horner said of that: “Daniel obviously wanted to finish the race on a high.”

And then he added: “We’ve now got a period of time where we’ll evaluate all of the relevant performances of the drivers. It’s a natural break in the season to reflect on that.

“There’s a bigger picture beyond Daniel.”

A picture that may, or may not, be clear to Ricciardo’s VCARB bosses.

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Although all the signs from Ricciardo’s demeanour to the guard of honour to the Honey Badger reportedly being the last driver to leave the paddock on Sunday night after a round of hugs, suggest this is it, his team boss Laurent Mekies used the word “may” in the team’s post-Singapore press release.

Speaking about the eight-time Grand Prix winner’s – potentially – final F1 race, he said: “We really needed a Safety Car opportunity for Daniel to get back into the fight for points.

“Dan was on an aggressive strategy starting on softs and has put in some very good laps through the race, but had effectively no chance to get back into the good positions from so far back. He never gave up and fought all race long.

“Given this may have been Daniel’s last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savour it and go out with the fastest lap.”

Ricciardo grabbed the stat but finishing P18 he did not get the point. He will leave, perhaps, leave F1 with eight wins, 32 podiums and 17 fastest laps.

He could also, depending on how the final six races play out for Verstappen, leave the sport knowing he made the difference that helped his former Red Bull team-mate secure a fourth Drivers’ Championship title.

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