Daniel Ricciardo broke down in tears after the Singapore Grand Prix, knowing his F1 career was about to hit another roadblock. It was a tough moment for one of F1’s most beloved personalities.
Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies is now opening up about what went wrong during Ricciardo’s time with the team.
“Daniel absolutely still had that incredible speed we all know him for,” Mekies told Autosport. “We saw flashes of the old Danny Ric in Miami and that amazing fifth place in qualifying in Canada.”
But in F1, occasional brilliance isn’t enough.
“Being fast one day isn’t the challenge – it’s being fast every single race weekend,” Mekies explained. “And we just couldn’t get Daniel in that sweet spot consistently enough.”
The team boss didn’t shy away from taking some of the blame. “We have to raise our hands as a team. We played a big part in how things turned out.”
Despite the disappointing end, Ricciardo’s impact on the team was significant. He helped develop their 2024 car and brought his years of experience from winning races with Red Bull.
“Daniel really pushed us to explore what the car could do,” Mekies said. “His technical feedback was invaluable, and he brought that championship-winning mindset to everything we did.”
His presence also helped teammate Yuki Tsunoda grow as a driver. The young Japanese racer learned a lot from working alongside the veteran Australian, particularly in how to give better feedback about the car.
Ricciardo’s exit came right after Singapore, with Liam Lawson stepping into his seat starting at Austin. In an interesting twist, Lawson has now landed the big prize – he’ll be Max Verstappen‘s teammate at Red Bull in 2025, replacing Sergio Perez who’s moving into an ambassador role.
It’s a reminder of how quickly things can change in F1, where yesterday’s hero can become tomorrow’s heartbreak story.
