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F1 pundit Ted Kravitz paid an emotional farewell to Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo amidst speculations that the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday was the final race of his F1 career. The F1 paddock had been afoot throughout the weekend regarding the impending departure of the Aussie from the Faenza-based outfit and the sport after Singapore.
The eight-time race winner joined the sister Red Bull team in Hungary in 2023, replacing a struggling Nyck De Vries to get a sniff of driving for the Austrian team in the future. The 35-year-old came close to getting the nod during the summer break, but the reigning world champion stuck with Sergio Perez.
Ahead of the Singapore GP weekend, there had been strong rumors that Liam Lawson might replace Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the 2024 season from the next race in Austin.
Although there had been no official confirmation of the same from either the team or the Aussie driver, Ted Kravitz on his Sky Sports' Ted's notebook segment, paid an emotional farewell to Ricciardo, saying:
"Thank you to Daniel Ricciardo, thank you for that smile, thank you for the shoes, thanks for I never left, thanks for that gorgeous nose of his, thanks for coming into the paddock on that horse. Thanks for the Enchante merch, thanks for the red wine, thanks for those cowboy boots that he wears sometimes.
"Thanks for licking the stamp and sending it. Thankoyou for being honest. Thank you for being a gentleman and thank you for being a proper great Aussie bloke Daniel Ricciardo. Weolove you if this is it. Thankyou so much." (24:47)
Daniel Ricciardo reacts on his reported last race in F1
VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo stated that he was aware that the race in Singapore 'could be it' and his fastest lap at the end was his 'one final crack'.
Speaking with F1.com, the Aussie said:
“It was maybe just to have one last crack at doing a fast one if it is to be it. Possibly, I have to acknowledge that. It’s been a little bit of a race-by-race situation and I would have obviously loved the weekend to have gone better. It didn’t, so I have to prepared for this maybe being it."
Ricciardo is currently P14 in the Driver's Championship with 12 points to his name in the 2024 season, tied with Williams F1 driver Alex Albon, with the latter leading on countback.
The Aussie had been comprehensively out-qualified by RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying as he trailed 6-12 but presented a better case for himself in the races as he finished 6-7, in which both drivers finished by the Japanese driver outscored him 22-12 in the 18 races and their Sprints thus far.
