- Daniel Ricciardo probably competed in his last race at the Singapore Grand Prix
- The Australian is expected to be replaced by Liam Lawson shortly.
- A photographer has revealed what happened after Sunday’s race
A photographer inside the Formula One paddock has revealed the details surrounding Daniel Ricciardo’s emotional lap of honour following the Singapore Grand Prix.
Ricciardo, 35, is believed to have held a secret 10-minute chat with former McLaren teammate and championship contender Lando Norris, in scenes reportedly captured by cameras on Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
Excitement was high at Marina Bay on Sunday as speculation mounted that fan favourite Ricciardo would lose his RB seat ahead of the next Grand Prix in the United States. Young New Zealand driver Liam Lawson is expected to replace him.
However, Ricciardo came out on top, setting the fastest lap of the race in what could prove crucial in his great friend Max Verstappen’s quest for a fourth world title.
The Australian appeared in front of the cameras after the race and was overcome with emotion as he contemplated what would likely be his final Formula One race.
And paddock photographer Kym Illman captured Ricciardo’s moves on a humid night in Singapore.
On his YouTube channel, Illman said via Planet F1:’At 1:46am on 23 September, Daniel Ricciardo walked out of the F1 paddock for the last time as an F1 driver.
‘The whole evening was a strange and heartbreaking thing, F1 firing a driver who has not yet been officially announced as leaving.
Details of Daniel Ricciardo’s farewell to the Formula 1 paddock revealed
‘Speculation? No. Daniel had no doubts about his future and neither did the rest of the paddock. There were many tears.
“He was voted Driver of the Day. Was it a sentimental vote? People knew he was leaving the sport and they wanted to reward him with that.
‘After the race, he sat in his car for a while, enjoying what he knew would be his last race.
‘He was probably in one of the longest sessions I’ve ever had with a driver in the press area. He spoke to every single person who wanted to talk to him and sometimes for 15 minutes.
‘She was happy and smiling during most of those interviews, that’s her nature, but in some interviews she was on the verge of tears.
‘He walked back to the hospitality suite and there was an honour guard on either side and everyone was applauding him when he came in. He was fist-bumping and high-fiving people and then he was behind closed doors for quite a while.’
Illman then revealed the heart-to-heart between Ricciardo and Norris.
“Shortly after midnight, Lando Norris came to see Daniel,” he said. “They met behind closed doors at the back of the VCARB garage.
“Was there any media there? Yes, Netflix.
Photographer claims Ricciardo had a secret 10-minute meeting with Lando Norris
The two were teammates at McLaren and remain close friends.
“If they weren’t there, they were very close and I imagine it will be a heartbreaking and distressing episode to watch next year.
‘About 10 minutes later, Lando came out and left the paddock. At that point, Daniel was the only driver left in the paddock, as far as I could see. And it’s getting pretty late now.
‘Yuki (Tsunoda) came into the garage, Laurent Mekies (VCARB Team Principal) came into the garage and they both came out.
‘And finally, Daniel also appeared with his manager Blake and they returned to the hospitality suite.
‘More hugs, more tears, and then we stayed upstairs for a while, and a long while. At that point, I got the feeling that Daniel just didn’t want to leave.
‘Maybe he had a late flight, I couldn’t tell you exactly, but it was strange to witness what was happening to a lovely boy.
“When he finally came down, he walked out into the kitchen to say ‘thank you’ to the crew there and walked over to where we were.”