This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix could be Daniel Ricciardo’s last in F1, as rumours intensify he will be dropped in favour of Kiwi ace Liam Lawson.
Lawson has been promised a seat on the 2025 grid, with many expecting it to be in the one currently occupied by Ricciardo at RB.
Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko in Azerbaijan last weekend suggested the team’s 2025 plans would be announced after Singapore.
“It is still September, but from Singapore, we will have a precise idea. It will be quite clear as to what will happen with the second seat.”
But while that was initially taken to mean it a more or less routine driver announcement was imminent, the USA-based AutoRacing1 reported the move will happen immediately.
Lawson reportedly has two clauses in his contract that would support the speculation. One is that he would become a free agent if he doesn’t sign a contract for a 2025 race seat by the end of September.
More importantly, a second guaranteed him a minimum number of grands prix this season – believed to be either five or six. There will be six races remaining after Singapore.
The 34-year-old Aussie Ricciardo is the only one of the four Red Bull drivers without a firm contract for next season.
Max Verstappen is under a long-term contract at Red Bull until the end of 2028, and RB activated a one-year option on Yuki Tsunoda earlier this season.
Despite being the weakest of the four Red Bull drivers for much of this season, Red Bull signed Sergio Perez to a fresh two-year deal from next season.
Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft told Wide World of Sports this week Ricciardo’s options were either Red Bull or bust.
It’s looking more and more likely it will be bust, and sooner rather than later.
RB is in the midst of a horror form slump, and is now in a fight with Haas to keep ahold of sixth in the constructors’ championship.
When the season started in Bahrain, RB could lay claim to having the sixth-fastest car on the grid. In Baku, they were quicker only than the two Saubers.
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Tsunoda sits 12th in the standings with 22 points. Ricciardo has 12 points and sits 14th.
Despite that, Ricciardo has generally had the better of Tsunoda since Canada in June.
In the first eight races, Tsunoda won the head-to-head against Ricciardo in races they both finished 5-1. In the nine since, it’s swung 5-2 in the Aussie’s favour. The overall season sits at 7-6 in favour of Tsunoda.
Tsunoda scored 18 points through the first eight grands prix to Monaco, but has scored only four in the nine races since.
Ricciardo scored his first points of the season with a stunning fourth in the Miami sprint race, but has only three Sunday points finishes to his name.
Practice for the Singapore Grand Prix begins on Friday afternoon, before the race at 10pm Sunday (AEST).
