‘Wanted him out’: Red Bull spill brutal details about Daniel Ricciardo sacking

More awkward details have come to light about Daniel Ricciardo’s sacking, including from the man that’s replacing him.

Daniel Ricciardo could have been sacked much earlier in the year if not for the intervention of Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

The F1 world is mourning Ricciardo’s presumed retirement from the sport after he was unceremoniously sacked days after a bizarre farewell race where he was brought to tears despite his exit not being publicly confirmed.

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Liam Lawson will replace Ricciardo at Red Bull’s feeder team VCARB — his contract stipulated he had to drive at least the last six races of the season.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has now revealed he pushed to keep Ricciardo as long as he could, but his form was simply “never compelling enough”.

Horner told the F1 Nation podcast veteran team adviser Helmut Marko wanted to give Ricciardo the flick as early as the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Ricciardo ultimately drove eight more races before being sacked by Red Bull in a stay of execution that would be have been incredibly difficult for the 35-year-old to deal with.

“I mean, he started the season roughly, and then Miami was a weekend of two halves,” Horner said.

“The Friday and Saturday morning was fantastic … but then the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday were disastrous.”

“And even around Barcelona, Helmut wanted him out of the car, and there was already a lot of pressure on him there.”

Christian Horner tried to keep Ricciardo but Helmut Marko wanted him gone. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

“I’ve done my very best to buy him as much time in the car to allow him to deliver, otherwise he would have been out of the car after Barcelona.”

The Aussie’s form never got to the level where he was putting significant pressure on Red Bull’s No. 2 driver Sergio Perez.

“All the drivers are under pressure to deliver, but the reason that Daniel was in that car was to get himself back into a position to ultimately be there to pick up the pieces if Checo didn’t deliver,” Horner said.

“And the problem was they both had issues with form at varying times. Checo started the season very well, very strongly, and Daniel was struggling.

“And then as Checo lost form, Daniel found a bit of form, but it was never compelling enough to say ‘OK we should switch the two drivers’.”

Speaking to New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB after his promotion was made public, Lawson revealed he had known the awkward handover was coming for some time.

“I knew about it for the last probably two weeks,” Lawson said.

“It had been the plan for a long time now, where it was leading.

“I had a contract date that needed to be fulfilled. Basically it was going towards this way, and then a couple of weeks ago basically they told me this is what was going to happen, and then basically not long after that it was basically set in stone.”

Liam Lawson felt bad about how Ricciardo’s exit played out. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

The 22-year-old also gave an insight to the awkwardness he felt in the garage at the Singapore Grand Prix as Ricciardo answered questions about his future and made it clear he had driven his last race.

“Not good, honestly,” said Lawson, who is the 10th New Zealander to drive in F1.

“Singapore was definitely not an enjoyable weekend for me just because obviously we all knew what was coming.

“Daniel has always been very good to me in a lot of ways. When I drove last year and then even this season he’s always been somebody that — I’ve never felt in competition with him or anything like that; he never made it feel like that.

“It wasn’t a nice feeling.

“I get one shot at F1, and it’s come now, and I’m obviously grateful for that opportunity, but I now need to take it with both hands.

“He (Ricciardo) said the same thing. He said, ‘You need to make the most of it’.”

Such was Red Bull’s clumsy, drawn out handling of the contract saga, Lawson said the reaction from his family was one of “pure relief”.

“When I found out and I got to call everybody, the first words or the first things that they said — all of them, including my dad, my mum and everybody, all the sponsors behind me from day one, I could hear the relief in their voice before anything.

“It wasn’t excitement, it was just pure relief, which is also how I felt, to be honest, because it’s been obviously a huge journey, and a lot of people have put a lot into this. It was very exciting.”

Lawson gets six races in the VCARB to finish the season. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Horner conceded mid-season sackings are brutal but said it was crucial Red Bull get a look at Lawson before committing to the Kiwi full-time for 2025.

“Of course in a perfect world that’s what we would have done (allow Ricciardo to finish the season), but from a broader perspective we need answers for the bigger picture in terms of drivers,” Horner explained.

“And with six races remaining it’s the perfect opportunity to line Liam up alongside Yuki (Tsunoda), to see how he performs over the remaining six grands prix.

“This goes beyond VCARB, it encompasses Red Bull Racing. Obviously we have a contract with Sergio for next year, but you’ve always got to have an eye out in terms of what comes next. Is that going to be Liam? Or do we need to look outside the pool? Or will one of the other juniors step up in the fullness of time, whether it’s Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad?”

Ricciardo was a broken man in Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Red Bull has been widely slammed for not giving Ricciardo a proper farewell race by announcing his departure publicly beforehand.

Marko has reportedly offered Ricciardo an ambassadorial role with Red Bull, but it’s unlikely he will take up the offer.

“He is, especially in the United States, one of the most popular Formula 1 drivers,” Marko told Motorsport.Total.

“On the other hand, if he is no longer an active driver, I don’t know if he would then feel like doing those PR activities.”

Ricciardo is expected to take some time to reassess and reset. He has been linked with potential moves to NASCAR or Australia’s Supercars championship.

The F1 season continues at the United States Grand Prix on Monday 21 October (AEST).

Originally published as ‘Wanted him out’: Red Bull spill brutal details about Daniel Ricciardo sacking