Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 fate with Red Bull appears all but sealed

Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 fate seems all but sealed after contract details were brought to light in the wake of swirling rumours.

Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 fate seems all but sealed after contract details were revealed.

The Australian’s future behind the wheel of the Visa CashApp RB appears to be on its last legs with Red Bull reportedly set to drop the axe following the Singapore Grand Prix.

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Ricciardo is expected to be replaced by New Zealand youngster Liam Lawson during the four week break before the United States Grand Prix in Texas next month.

“We have an idea, but we have to wait until Singapore,” Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko told Viaplay.

“It is still September, but from Singapore, we will have a precise idea. It will be quite clear as to what will happen with the second seat.”

Now details surrounding Lawson’s contract with the team emerged with two clauses pouring fuel all the fire.

One clause, reported by AutoRacing1, states Lawson would become a free agent if he doesn’t sign a contract for a race seat by the end of September.

It’s the second clause however that really spells disaster for Ricciardo.

The second one reportedly guarantees him a minimum number of races this season, believed to be five or six.

Following the Singapore Grand Prix there will be six races remaining in the 2024 season.

It’s bad news for Ricciardo. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

All smiles for Lawson. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

As the rumours surrounding his future continue to swirl, Ricciardo broke his silence and said he isn’t fully satisfied yet with his career.

“If it ended today, I would be proud of what I’ve done,” he told CNN. “But on the same note, you’re never fully satisfied because the reason I got into Formula 1 was to try to become world champion. That’s something I’ll obviously still try and achieve until the day I retire.”

Ricciardo said his first full season behind the wheel after being axed by McLaren at the end of 2022 hadn’t gone to plan.

“At the start of the season, I was not reaching my goals or reaching my potential, but managed to start turning that around,” he said.

“We have quite a new team and definitely with that comes new targets and new opportunity and for me it’s to obviously contribute to help the team.

“I’d say at this point (I’m) probably looking a bit more for that stability and just try to set something down for these last few years of my career. I don’t really want to be moving around too much anymore.”

Red Bull are expected to announce Lawson in the coming weeks. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

In further bad news for Ricciardo, the Formula 1 grid for the 2025 season is almost at capacity with only the second VCARB seat and the second seat at Audi remaining without a locked in driver.

If, as is widely expected, Lawson is named alongside Yuki Tsunoda then Ricciardo’s only hopes of driving next season would be with Audi alongside Nico Hulkenberg.

While rumours still surround Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and his struggles, Ricciardo did himself no favours of replacing him at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Perth product finished 13th after a poor strategy where the team a long put him on a long run on hard tyres before finished on medium tyres that degraded quicker than expected.

Ricciardo added that his engineer Pierre Hamelin apologised to him after the race while the team promised to get to the bottom of why the medium tyres ruined his race.

The Singapore Grand Prix will get underway on Sunday, September 22 from 10pm (AEST).

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 fate with Red Bull appears all but sealed