Opinion: Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t deserve axing after F1 Singapore GP

Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo went into the Singapore Grand Prix with uncertainty surrounding his future in Formula 1 but he doesn’t deserve to be axed.

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

If rumours are to be believed, the Singapore Grand Prix could have been Ricciardo’s very last race as an F1 driver with the rumours leaning heavily on the Australian losing his seat to Liam Lawson for the rest of the season. However, these have not been confirmed.

The Australian was brought back into the fold and parachuted into then-AlphaTauri last season to replace the under-performing Nyck de Vries. In turn, he was to stand in as Red Bull’s backup plan if Sergio Perez was to underperform.

Perez has underperformed this season but remains in his coveted seat with the defending world champions showcasing some faith at the mid-season break. Despite this, Perez has not scored more than eight points in a single race since Imola and has only scored 41 points in the last 12 races, making it an average of 3.4 points per race.

In the same car, Perez’s teammate Max Verstappen scored 195 points in the same period (Imola to Singapore).

If truth be told, Ricciardo hasn’t had a stellar season but he has been okay – to his credit. He has only retired twice, both by collisions, one with Williams’ Alexander Albon, in Japan, and the other was a rear-end hit by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, in China.

Danny Ric ❤️

An emotional Daniel Ricciardo speaks after the #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/53hD09HZ4z

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024

It also needs to be considered Ricciardo is not in a car which will consistently score points, so it would be silly not to consider the limitations placed on the Australian. Neither Ricciardo nor his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, have scored points in the last four races.

From Imola to Singapore, the two drivers have scored a similar amount of points with Tsunoda scoring eight points whereas Ricciardo scored a point less (7pts) in the same period.

Considering the Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo while it was lacklustre at best with RB forcing the Australian on a three-stop strategy, the Aussie had a clean race and took away the fastest lap point from McLaren’s Lando Norris.

This final point, considering Ricciardo will not take it having finished outside the top 10 in Singapore, could play a crucial role in Red Bull seeing Verstappen seal his fourth consecutive world title at the end of the year.

Even if Ricciardo is to be benched for Lawson, it does feel as if Ricciardo has done enough to be allowed to see out the rest of the season.

On the other side of the coin, it’s understandable that Red Bull and RB want to get young talent into their cars or provide their drivers a platform to shine. This does showcase a weakness in F1 as there are not enough seats to go around to bring in the best talent of the next generation.

What do you think, has Ricciardo done enough to retain his seat for the rest of the season? 

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Drivers support Max Verstappen after swearing punishment by FIA
• Norris pips Verstappen to Singapore GP pole as Sainz crashes
• Sainz crashes out of Singapore GP qualifying
• Leclerc pips Norris with fastest FP1 time at F1 Singapore GP
• McLaren F1 reveal ‘Legend Reborn’ livery for Singapore GP
• VCARB reveal ‘fashion-inspired’ livery for Singapore GP
• Mercedes F1 reveal striking livery for Singapore GP

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.