New insight into Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 exit: “His world had collapsed”
"You could already hear on the radio that his world had collapsed."
RB CEO Peter Bayer has revealed Daniel Ricciardo pushed for the news of his F1 exit not to be communicated to the public even after his Q1 elimination at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Ricciardo bowed out of F1 following the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
It was a sudden exit given Ricciardo was in the frame to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull after the summer break.
Ricciardo’s formal departure from RB wasn’t announced until the Friday after Singapore despite it being public knowledge.
Speaking to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Bayer detailed Ricciardo’s departure - and what happened during the Singapore weekend.
“We had agreed with Daniel that we would not communicate it,” he said.
“We knew that we would look a bit outdated as a team. But we also did it to protect the driver. It was his wish.
“He believed right to the end that he would finish at the front in qualifying and show everyone. I’ve never seen such mental strength in an athlete. And I’ve been in a lot of sports.”
Ricciardo’s weekend didn’t go to plan as he was knocked out in Q1 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Bayer conceded it was a “terrible moment”.
“It was a terrible moment when he exited in Q1,” Bayer added. “You could already hear on the radio that his world had collapsed.
“We then spoke to him again on Saturday. We sat together in our office at two o’clock in the morning and asked him what we should do now.
“He then told us that we should just let him drive the race. He just didn’t want any nonsense.”
Bayer is adamant the team would have given Ricciardo a deserving send-off if he remained with the team until Abu Dhabi.
“As a team, we put ourselves in front of him,” Bayer said when explaining the decision to replace Ricciardo with Liam Lawson.
“If Daniel had driven all the way to Abu Dhabi, then of course we would have celebrated his farewell with fireworks and a photo on the grid, just like [Kimi] Räikkönen back then.
“That’s what everyone would have wanted.”
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
