Daniel Ricciardo Puts Up A Probable Title Deciding Lap In What Could Be His Last Time In An F1 Car

Daniel Ricciardo has not been the same ever since he left Red Bull racing a few years back. Ricciardo is one of the most well known names in the modern Formula One era and was considered as a superb driver during his time in Red Bull. Ever since he left Red Bull, Ricciardo has been around the grid to several teams but that old Ricciardo was still missing that won the hearts of millions. Ricciardo went from Red Bull to Renault and then to McLaren. In all of these teams Ricciardo had bad stints in terms of racing. 

Eventually Daniel Ricciardo moved to RB which is the junior team of Red Bull, but his performance did not improve over here either. Daniel Ricciardo lost out to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda a majority of the times this season and is heading towards an exit from Formula One which could happen mid season. There are also reports that Ricciardo might no longer be in Formula One as RB will be replacing him before the Austin Grand Prix. 

Daniel Ricciardo Puts Iconic Fastest Lap In Probably Last F1 Outing 

Daniel Ricciardo was once tipped as a future Formula 1 champion. His last act in F1 might be playing spoiler in the title race.

The Australian's late rally at the Singapore GP on Sunday snatched the bonus point for fastest lap away from title challenger Lando Norris and helped out Max Verstappen. Ricciardo drives for RB, the sister team of Verstappen's Red Bull, and has previously been a teammate to both Norris and Verstappen.

“If Max wins by a point then I just guaranteed myself a nice Christmas present,” Ricciardo told British broadcaster Sky Sports. Verstappen thanked Ricciardo over the radio to Red Bull.

The lap put the visibly emotional Ricciardo — a popular figure in F1 — in the spotlight ahead of a widely expected decision to replace him with RB's reserve driver Liam Lawson. It generated controversy too. Ricciardo finished outside the top 10 so the point isn’t credited to him in the standings.

Ricciardo gave his clearest indication yet that this may have been his last race. “A lot of emotions because I’m aware it could be it,” he said.

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Ricciardo's F1 career looked like it might be over in 2022 when he was soundly beaten by Norris at McLaren. After a stint as a Red Bull reserve, he got another chance last year when RB, then branded AlphaTauri, fired the underperforming Nyck de Vries midseason. It hasn't really worked out, with only four top-10 finishes in 25 races.

“I always said I don’t want to come back just to be on the grid, I want to try and fight back in the front and get back with Red Bull, and obviously it didn’t come to fruition. So then I also have to ask myself the question, ‘Well, then what else can I achieve?’” Ricciardo told Sky Sports. 

Daniel Ricciardo Might Have Just Helped Verstappen Win The Championship 

“Maybe the fairy-tale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on 13 or so years, and I’m proud.”

Even more than for his eight wins, the last of them in 2021, the Australian was famed for his easy-going manner and sense of humor and became a standout face of the “Drive To Survive” Netflix series, which brought F1 to a new audience and sparked a boom in interest in the United States. 

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Ricciardo's voice was the first heard in the first episode from the 2018 season, which showed him relaxing with his family in Australia and talking of his dream of being a champion.

Ricciardo's fastest lap tipped the title race away from Norris in one very important way. If Verstappen is second in each of the remaining six Grand Prix races and three sprints, he will retain the championship by one point from Norris.

Ricciardo helped out a driver from what's officially a different team, but Norris isn't complaining.

“That’s how it’s been in Formula 1 probably since before I was born, so nothing to complain about,” he said. "It’s the logical thing to do, the smart play by them. Happy for Daniel, that’s all." 

(With AP Inputs)