Formula 1: RB accept responsibility for not delivering the car for Daniel Ricciardo’s to succeed

Daniel Ricciardo’s second chapter in Formula 1 met an early end at the Singapore Grand Prix this year and the RB team principal has made an admission about the team’s role in his ill-fated stint.

RB team principal Laurent Mekies has conceded the whole team has accepted responsibility for failing to ignite Daniel Ricciardo’s ill-fated final Formula 1 campaign with the squad.

In a frank admission, Mekies said everyone at RB had “raised our hands as a team” for not providing the car for Ricciardo to consistently perform in and ultimately save his F1 career.

Ricciardo lost his seat at RB after the Singapore Grand Prix to reserve driver Liam Lawson, who was last week announced as Max Verstappen’s new teammate at Red Bull.

After being handed a chance to revive his F1 career, Ricciardo had made no secret of his desire for a fairytale return to Red Bull where he had seven of his eight grand prix wins.

But the 35-year-old struggled for consistency, only finishing among the points in a handful of races, including his fourth place in the Miami sprint.

Mekies, however, said Ricciardo’s unsuccessful second chapter in F1 did not rest all on the Australian’s shoulders, saying the team also had to accept fault for it not working out.

Daniel Ricciardo after his final race at the Singapore Grand Prix. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

“The question we have been asked the most was: ‘Can Daniel still produce the ultimate speed we have seen?’ I think he has on a few occasions, in Miami, in Canada (fifth place in qualifying) and in quite a few other races,” Mekies said in an interview with motorsport.com.

“So, he did produce that ultimate speed that took him to race wins in the past.

“But for the team, as for drivers, the biggest difficulty is not to be fast one day. It’s to be fast in every race.

“Did we manage to keep Daniel in that sweet spot often enough? No, that’s the reality.

“I raised my hand and we raised our hands as a team, because we have a big part to play in it. And this led to what happened.”

Mekies said Ricciardo’s struggles had ultimately benefited his teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Lawson when he jumped into the seat as the team searched for solutions for him.

“We have explored a large part of the car’s envelope with Daniel,” Mekies said.

“It’s a never-ending process. You do that every time you have a new update, or every time you have a new characteristic.

“But certainly, Daniel pushed us to explore that envelope, and it gave the engineering team a very good background of what the car would and could not do.”

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Visa Cash App RB on the grid prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 22, 2024 in Singapore, Singapore. Picture: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Despite his abrupt exit from the squad in September, Mekies said Ricciardo had left his mark at the team with his approach to his racing.

“There was a huge benefit for the team and for Yuki in terms of Daniel’s technical feedback, direction of development, race-winning approach,” Mekies said.

“Having somebody that knows how it is in a team that wins races, that fights for championships, is setting the benchmark an

d that counts a lot in a time where you are trying to build the team and target better results.”

RB last week announced Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar would partner Tsunoda for the 2025 season after Lawson’s promotion.

Ricciardo’s next move remains unclear, but he has appeared to shut down speculation of a potential return to the F1 grid for new team Cadillac in 2026.

In a video that emerged on social media, Ricciardo was asked if he would be joining Cadillac as he posed alongside a fan for a photo, to which he replied “Nah, I’m done”.