Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull eviscerated by F1 great Johnny Herbert
While the tears flowed amid claims of an injustice, Daniel Ricciardo has copped a vicious spray from a fellow F1 winner.
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Amid the tears and hand wringing that accompanied Daniel Ricciardo’s apparent F1 retirement came the odd dissenting voice.
One of the grid’s most popular drivers ever, Ricciardo raced his 258th and likely last race in Singapore last month, with many left feeling the 35-year-old had been treated poorly over a lack of communication from his Red Bull outfit.
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Team principal Christian Horner seems to be struggling to say goodbye, with reports a door is still being kept ajar for the West Australian should a current Red Bull driver falter.
And that news was too much for F1 veteran and current analyst Johnny Herbert to swallow.
Herbert, 60, spent 12 years on the Formula 1 circuit, winning three races overall and finishing fourth with Benetton Renault in the 1995 world championship.
He was shocked Ricciardo still had any hope of an F1 recall.
“Ricciardo has been dumped for the last six races to be replaced by Liam Lawson,” Herbert told CasinoHawks.
“Horner says the door will always be open for him at Red Bull. Is he serious?
“Horner has always been Daniel’s champion, ready to fight his corner and give him chance after chance.
“(Red Bull’s chief adviser) Helmut Marko has been the one pushing for change. It’s all part of the Red Bull power struggle it seems.
“Dropping Daniel had to be done. It had been going on for far too long. Daniel had chance after chance, but it was never going to happen.”
For much of the 2024 season, Ricciardo was being discussed as supposedly a realistic hope of replacing the struggling Sergio Perez in the prized second Red Bull seat alongside three-time champion Max Verstappen.
But repeated failures and an inability to consistently beat his VCARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda ultimately shut down those dreams.
Through 18 races, Japan’s Tsunoda has 22 points to Ricciardo’s 12, with Liam Lawson now stepping into the Aussie’s seat for the final six races of the season.
Herbert believes if anyone should have been considered to partner Verstappen, it should be Tsunoda, and questioned Ricciardo’s initial lifeline from the back-up Red Bull team that landed in mid-2023.
“There has been no real positive signs from Daniel this season. Change should have happened much sooner,” Herbert continued.
“How can Red Bull risk putting him in their car? Daniel was quick but he is not anymore and has been blown away by Yuki Tsunoda, his teammate. Why is Yuki not being spoken about instead?
“I don’t get it. I don’t understand Christian Horner’s willingness to give Daniel a possible lifeline when his best days are clearly behind him.
“He should not have that chance. His time has come and gone.
“It is the end of the F1 road for him. Everyone is saying it. It hasn’t happened for him for many a year.”
Herbert’s blunt take came after Ricciardo revealed behind the scenes details of his final race weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was emotional during his final race, despite being unable to confirm he had been replaced by Lawson heading into the United States Grand Prix on October 21.
While Ricciardo was given a guard of honour by the team as he walked into their hospitality suite after the race, the circumstances behind the axing remain clouded.
The former Renault and McLaren driver has now shown what happened behind the scenes.
One photo particular has tugged at the heart strings of his legion of fans, with compatriot Oscar Piastri gifted the helmet Ricciardo wore in his final race.
The photo shows Piastri holding up the Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) team helmet and Ricciardo clutching Piastri’s McLaren lid.
Former F1 world championship runner-up David Coulthard summed it up when he suggested he was in tears when commenting on Ricciardo’s post.
“Don’t mind me … just cutting onions,” the British driver wrote.
The official account of the Australian Grand Prix also shared a “loudly crying face” emoji.
“I can’t do this today,” the organisation posted.
Journalist Mariana Malek commented: “Why am I crying all over again”.
In terms of his future, Ricciardo has shown no interest in moving to American motorsports such as IndyCar or NASCAR.
But Aussie Supercars chief Shane Howard said on Thursday from Bathurst the Perth native would be welcome to drive in Australia’s premier motorsport category.
Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull eviscerated by F1 great Johnny Herbert
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