Mekies states VCARB let Ricciardo ‘go out with the fastest lap’ in controversial move

Mekies states VCARB let Ricciardo ‘go out with the fastest lap’ in controversial move

23rd September 2024 0 By Kamron Kent

Visa Cash App RB’s team principal, Laurent Mekies stated the team wanted Daniel Ricciardo out with the fastest lap in what could’ve been his last Formula 1 race.

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Heading into the Singapore Grand Prix, rumours quickly circulated that it could be the last race for Ricciardo in F1. However, his potential last outing was not one to write home about. 

In what could be his last race weekend, the Australian driver failed to get out of Q1 and only managed 16th at best. Despite an aggressive strategy, starting on the soft compounds, Ricciardo could only manage 18th at best following a three-stop strategy. 

However, on his final stint, the Perth-born driver was equipped with the soft compound tyre and he went out to attack the fastest lap held by McLaren’s winner Lando Norris. He succeeded, helping Max Verstappen’s championship hopes at Red Bull.

Mekies’ defended the team’s decision to do this due to the suspicion that the Singapore race could be Ricciardo’s last. He said:

“Starting from further back, we really needed a Safety Car opportunity for Daniel to get back into the fight for points. 

“Dan was on an aggressive strategy starting on Softs and has put in some very good laps through the race, but had effectively no chance to get back into the good positions from so far back. He never gave up and fought all race long. 

“Given this may have been Daniel’s last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savour it and go out with the fastest lap.”

This move, given Ricciardo took the fastest lap – and the point with it – even though he will not take it having not finished inside the top 10, has rubbed some the wrong way considering Red Bull and VCARB are owned by the same entity.

The Red Bull parent company, Austrian conglomerate Red Bull GmbH, owns VCARB and the senior Red Bull team with championship leader Max Verstappen driving for the latter. 

There are no rules against a single entity owning two separate teams… yet, making what Ricciardo did completely legal under the current rulebook. Regardless, the move was not out of the ordinary and was later thanked by Verstappen at the end of the race on the cool-down lap. 

Teams and drivers have previously pitted late in the race to go for the fastest lap when they have nothing else to go for, apart from simply pride and honour.

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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.

CategoryFormula 1 Formula Series News
TagsDaniel Ricciardo F1 fastest lap Formula 1 Lando Norris Max Verstappen McLaren Red Bull Red Bull Racing Singapore GP Singapore Grand Prix VCARB Visa Cash App RB

About the author

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.

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