Formula 1: Red Bull team principal said the team handled Daniel Ricciardo’s departure in the ‘wrong’ way

RB team principal Laurent Mekies says he regrets the way his team had handled the sacking of Daniel Ricciardo who was ‘probably bigger than F1’.

RB has conceded it botched the handling of Daniel Ricciardo’s exit from the Formula 1 team, confessing it was not managed in a “good enough manner” for his final race in Singapore.

In the wake of criticism for the way the Australian’s departure from the team was announced, RB team principal Laurent Mekies admitted the Red Bull sister squad had erred in deciding to “keep it confidential” until after the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo lost his RB seat to New Zealand young gun and Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, but the news was not confirmed by the team until later in the week following the Singapore race.

In a move which denied Ricciardo a proper farewell, it made for an awkward weekend for the eight-time Grand Prix winner, who was aware of his situation in Singapore, but had been unable to address it publicly.

But an emotional Ricciardo alluded to the end when he was questioned about his future after what turned out to be his final race when he declared he was “at peace” with the curtain closing on his F1 career.

Daniel Ricciardo on the grid prior before what was to be his final race at the Singapore Grand Prix. Picture: Getty Images

Looking back, Mekies regretted the “wrong” way the team had handled the departure for the driver who was “probably bigger than F1”.

“Of course we are not happy, you are absolutely right, we are not happy and we don’t think we have done it in a good enough manner,” Mekies told Sky Sports F1.

“There is no argument about that.

“The reasons behind (how it was handled) would be excuses so I don’t want …. to go into the reasons but what is clear is that we have had many discussion with Daniel and both the team and the driver were aware we were going into that weekend with this impossible situation to deal with.

“We chose rightly, wrongly – probably wrongly – we chose together for many decent reasons to keep it confidential until the end of the weekend.

“Obviously it meant it went through such a difficult weekend that we quickly realised it was not the thing we would have liked.”

While Mekies admitted RB would have handled the situation differently if it had its time again, he felt the F1 community and fans still found a way to “get the love to him”.

RB has admitted it should have handled Daniel Ricciardo’s departure better. Picture: Getty Images

“Having said that it was wrong, and it was something we would do better if you had to do it again, I think the whole paddock, all the fans out there, they found a way,” Mekies said.

“They found the way to get the love to him, to get the empathy to him, and maybe even more than if we had done perhaps something more traditional.

“Daniel has shown there he is bigger than an F1 driver, he is probably bigger than F1. We all love Daniel and I’m sure somehow this got to him the right way.”

Speaking before last week’s United States Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen agreed the Australian had “deserved a nicer exit”.

“I think it was quite clear for me, for Daniel that it was the last race. From my side, I think it could have been handled a bit differently. Also for him, because he knew it, but if you can’t say it exactly …” Verstappen said.

“It’s a bit of shame. He’s done a lot for F1. He’s won races, he has had incredible races. I think it deserved a nicer exit.”

In the lead-up to his first race for RB after replacing Ricciardo, Lawson said Singapore had been a tough one behind the scenes.

“It was definitely a difficult weekend for all of us, especially for Daniel,” said Lawson, who finished ninth in Austin.

“It’s something that we knew going in what the situation was. For me, I was lucky. I didn’t have to do too much media, I could keep myself away from that.

“But it wasn’t like that for all of us.”

Originally published as Formula 1: Red Bull team principal said the team handled Daniel Ricciardo’s departure in the ‘wrong’ way