On the sixtieth lap of this weekend’s Singapore GP, Daniel Ricciardo did one thing he hasn’t performed in a very long time: set the quickest lap of a race. It was the seventeenth of his profession, however his first since 2021, again when he was racing alongside Lando Norris with McLaren. Coincidentally, Ricciardo stole the fastest-lap honor from race-winner Norris this outing, regardless of no likelihood at scoring the singular level it affords or altering the race final result for himself or RB.
As McLaren principal Stella gently insinuated after the race in calling Ricciardo’s actually point-less lap “peculiar,” a conspiracy-minded F1 fan may see some Crimson Bull machinations at play within the determination to set the Aussie driver unfastened. However when Ricciardo stopped into pit lane with solely three laps remaining, languishing in 18th place, and swapped on a set of softs, the second additionally learn like a sendoff for a sophisticated, beloved driver.
Rumors about Daniel Ricciardo’s imminent demise — at RB, and as a driver in System 1 — reached a fever pitch upfront of the Singapore GP. It’s assumed that sooner or later, probably imminently, Liam Lawson can be named as his alternative. Quantifying why the crew would make a transfer doesn’t require a math diploma: the hole between Ricciardo’s qualifying tempo and lap instances in comparison with his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s appears clear sufficient.
Different margins — of expectations between driver, crew, and followers — are a lot tougher to calculate for eight-time Grand Prix winner Ricciardo. His profession arc to date has spanned the gamut: phenom to title contender; annoyed star to outcast to comeback hopeful. He was the face of System 1’s “Drive to Survive” period and world explosion. In his prime, Ricciardo fought for race wins and delivered indelible moments whereas gamely performing as a weak, smiling, shoey-slurping face of the game because it surged right into a broader cultural consciousness. He’s additionally pinned his final two years on a return to kind with RB that hasn’t materialized.
And but, for about 4 and a half minutes on Sunday in Singapore, Ricciardo took again the highlight. On lap 60 he picked up a set of softs and ripped off a time that can sit in a historical past e-book someplace, listed beneath Norris’ third-ever grand prix win. Ricciardo’s lap, at 1’34.486, was practically a half-second quicker than the then-standing quickest lap set by Norris. It’s an apples to oranges comparability, actually, given Norris by no means touched softs — nor did second-place finisher Max Verstappen, whose quickest was practically 1.5 seconds slower than Ricciardo’s. However Ricciardo’s actually carried its personal weight.
After the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo answered the media with a solemn tone.
“I am clearly ready for it,” Ricciardo instructed reporters who requested if he was being dropped by RB earlier than the US Grand Prix.
“I put my finest foot ahead. As an example perhaps the fairytale ending did not occur, however I additionally must look again on what’s been 13 or so years and I am proud,” he stated to Sky Sports activities F1.
Within the official post-race recap despatched to media, even RB Group Principal Laurent Mekies hinted at this being the checkered flag for Ricciardo: “Given this may increasingly have been Daniel’s final race, we wished to present him the possibility to savor it and exit with the quickest lap.”
Wherever your fandom lies, it’s arduous to not see Ricciardo’s scoring the quickest lap of a race — on a day the place his midfield-at-best RB seemed like a handful to drive — as a doff of the cap from the previous Driver’s World Championship contender. He took dwelling another accolade, and left his mark on the race in rubber.
