Crucial reason pinpointed for Daniel Ricciardo’s cruel F1 decline

Daniel Ricciardo’s inability to cope with the latest generation of Formula 1 car has been cited as a major reason for his downfall.

Red Bull will replace Ricciardo at RB, their sister team, with Liam Lawson with immediate effect.

Ricciardo bid a tearful farewell to F1 last weekend in Singapore, which now looks set to be his final grand prix.

“The cars that he drove so unbelievably well were a different philosophy of car,” said journalist Sam Power from Australia’s Channel 10 on the F1 Nation podcast.

“The 2022 regs that came in are incredibly stiffly sprung, a very flat floor.

“Previously he was used to an Adrian Newey car which was high rake, quite a lot of roll. Very different.

“We have often heard about him trying to adapt his driving style.

“I’d hazard a guess that it’s a mismatch to the 2022 cars and their general philosophy, more than anything.”

Ricciardo’s pomp at Red Bull was never relived in stints at Renault, McLaren and AlphaTauri/RB.

He originally lost his F1 drive when McLaren ditched him but missed only half-a-season before Red Bull rescued his career and threw him into their AlphaTauri seat.

Ricciardo initially impressed but an injury allowed Lawson to briefly deputise - and show the world his obvious potential.

“What hurts him the most? It feels like he’s always been up against it, against the run of play,” reporter Lawrence Barretto said.

“He hurt his hand in Zandvoort last year when he’d barely got started. He missed a load of races. The guy who will potentially replace him is the guy who did such a great job [replacing Ricciardo when he was injured last year].

“He started this year when the car, for whatever reason, was not at his comfort level but was competitive.

“Yuki Tsunoda scooped up a load of points. Then when [Ricciardo] turned it around, the car went the other way. He got 11ths and 12ths which are good, solid performances but they aren’t points so they don’t seem impressive.

“It seems unfortunate that his form has turned around at a time when the car hasn’t been up there.

“Even [in Singapore] Yuki didn’t score points. So you could argue the car still wasn’t capable of scoring, and he did the best he could do from where he started.

“He hasn’t had the rub of the green. But many drivers in Formula 1 will leave their careers and say that.

“That’s what will take him the longest to get over - that he never had the right circumstances.

“Right up until the August break, Red Bull wanted him to replace Perez. They even had a chat about it.

“What on earth has changed in four races to make them flip the other way?

“I think in that set-up, with the amount of people he’d know, in a works operation that can fix things quickly, identify problems quicker, he felt that. And I think Christian Horner felt that, that’s why he backed him so hard.

“He will always feel a little unfulfilled.”