Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles and jokes during what might be his last Grand Prix in F1. He switched to soft tires with a few laps left, aiming for the fastest lap and joking about an ‘extra bonus’ from Red Bull for taking a point from Lando Norris.
Norris is fighting Max Verstappen for the drivers’ championship, so every point matters. Red Bull used Ricciardo to snatch that point from McLaren, possibly in his final race in top-tier motorsport.
Ricciardo on Bonus: ‘I Heard Something Like That Yes’
Ricciardo’s F1 journey seems to be ending as VCARB plans to replace him with Liam Lawson for the last six races of 2024. There’s talk that Lawson has a contract clause allowing him to leave Red Bull if not promoted to F1.
Despite the rumors, Ricciardo kept his humor during the press conference. He joked about expecting something special from Red Bull after securing the fastest lap: “I obviously wish we were fighting for a little more in the race but, yeah I heard something about a 3.5 million dollar bonus for fastest lap or something, Red Bull was throwing some crazy number around!”
Reflecting on his career, he said, “I’m proud of the career [I’ve had]. Obviously, I tried to become a world champion, I tried to become the best at something in the world. I think it is a tall task that we ask from ourselves, and obviously, some achieve it, and some don’t so. In the end, if I came up a little short, I also can’t be too hard on myself. I’m happy with the effort I put in, and I think for that, there’s no sadness or feeling of regret or what could have been. I think I put my best foot forward,” concluded Ricciardo.
Fans might feel bittersweet about this news.
What do you think? Is this really the end of Ricciardo’s F1 story?
