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F1 pundit Martin Brundle reckons that Red Bull would bench Daniel Ricciardo after the Singapore GP and give the RB drive to the team's reserve driver, Liam Lawson.
Before F1's summer break, many reports surfaced that Red Bull could make major driver changes in both the A and B teams. However, the Austrian giants decided against it and kept Ricciardo in RB and Perez in Red Bull Racing. However, speculations about the Australian being replaced have surfaced once more at the 2024 F1 Singapore GP.
Ricciardo has had a subpar performance in 2024, he only managed to score a few points in four races as of now and has 12 points in total. Furthermore, he is behind his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, in the drivers' standings.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Martin Brundle said that he feels Daniel Ricciardo would be removed from RB's seat and replaced by Liam Lawson, who had raced instead of Ricciardo in 2023 when the Australian broke his hand at the Dutch GP. He also claimed that Red Bull would keep the Honey Badger in their roster of drivers and not completely cut ties with him.
“My understanding is that Daniel Ricciardo won’t be in the car in Austin at the next Grand Prix, but remains in the Red Bull pool. They want to see how Liam Lawson goes, for a number of reasons, I would imagine," Brundle said.
Brundle said that if Ricciardo had had a good season in 2024, he would have made a difference in the driver lineup in both RB and Red Bull Racing. The F1 pundit reckons that the F1 driver would not be on the grid in the upcoming US GP.
“I think if Daniel had had a stronger season, it would have made a big difference, not just in the secondary team at RB, but in the primary team as well at Red Bull Racing. So it’s not gone as well as he would have wanted. But I don’t expect him in the car in Austin,” he added.
Daniel Ricciardo believes he will continue with RB in 2025
Daniel Ricciardo himself feels that he would continue racing in F1 with RB in 2025 as well, despite questions raised about his future after the Singapore GP.
Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Ricciardo acknowledged the rumors flying around regarding his future. He explained that not a lot has changed since August's summer break and that he continues to wait for a decision from the team for his 2025 drive. He concluded by saying he was confident that he would get the seat.
“So honestly nothing's changed. I think some of the noise around has changed obviously saying well I even see out the season. But after the kind of August break selection period then it was just okay contract is this, so we're going to basically make the decision for next season based after Singapore. So again I'm aware of the other stuff that's going around, so that's why I've semi-addressed that. But from my understanding it's all for ’25,” Daniel Ricciardo said.
Ricciardo has a contract with RB till the end of the 2024 F1 season. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda, however, recently signed a contract extension with the team that sees him driving for them till 2025.
