Australian Daniel Ricciardo could well be preparing for his final F1 race at the Singapore Grand Prix after a disastrous qualifying session at the Marina Bay Circuit.
The Australian’s future is up in the air, with several reports claiming Singapore could be his last race as Red Bull looks to the future with Liam Lawson.
After a promising first day of practice, Ricciardo eventually qualified 16th for Sunday’s Grand Prix with another disappointing performance.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has addressed speculation it will be the Australian’s final race and insisted the team will look at all its options after the race.
“Well, look, you know, these things are under constant review,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
‘Obviously, there’s a much bigger picture that’s not just limited to Daniel, as, you know, we’re still looking at all of our options as we move forward.
“Now, there’s a natural break coming up, you know, with almost a month between now and the next race, so it’s natural that you take stock and consider, you know, all those options for the back end of the year.”
The Australian has not had an impressive season and Horner is now hinting that “tough decisions” will need to be made.
Daniel Ricciardo has not been offered a contract for 2025 and his F1 career looks set to come to a rapid end
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has hinted that “tough decisions” need to be made
“I’m not going to go into details about drivers’ contracts,” Horner said. “There’s privacy between the company and the individuals.
“But, Liam, the work he did for us last year on the VCARB car was very impressive.
‘Now, we take experience from that, because Daniel was our backer in case Sergio failed, and Daniel had a reasonable season, but it hasn’t been a stellar year.
Now, the question is: how good is Liam? And as you know, sometimes you have to make tough decisions to get those answers.
Although a decision has not yet been announced, some F1 fans are confident there are obvious signs in Singapore of the team’s decision.
Within the city’s MRT subway system, F1 teams have placed advertising everywhere ahead of the race weekend, and Red Bull is no different.
Of its four drivers, from the main team Red Bull and its sister team Visa Cash App RB, there is no sign of Ricciardo or the troubled Sergio Perez.
This is in stark contrast to Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, who are at the centre of all marketing campaigns and have their futures in the team secured.
Daniel Ricciardo prepares for a decisive weekend with his future in doubt beyond Singapore
Ricciardo spoke to reporters at the circuit on Thursday, and even he admitted he’s not sure he’ll be in Texas for one of his favorite races on the calendar.
“I actually found out that I won’t be in the car for this race, that was after Japan or something like that. I know how it is and how it works, and I knew there would always be some deadlines… after the summer break or after Singapore,” he said.
‘The next step will be after Singapore. But honestly, there are still a lot of things up in the air. We’ll see how the weekend goes. I’m going to give it my all. We’ll see what happens. I’ll try to get on the podium. That’s my plan.
“After the decision, that’s when the decisions will be made. We, who know the contract, that’s where the dates come in. So after the weekend, we’ll know more.”
Reports have claimed that Ricciardo will be sacked in place of New Zealander Liam Lawson, currently the team’s reserve driver, before the New Zealander is given a permanent place on the grid in 2025.
At the main team, Perez’s future is also uncertain despite his new two-year contract, with the Mexican far from the pace of world champion Max Verstappen.
It was initially thought that Ricciardo could make the jump to Red Bull from V-Ca-RB, but the most likely outcome now is that he will be let go altogether.