Enjoy the butterflies
Danny officially leaves the grid 😭
Grid news: Daniel dropped by VCARB
After 13 years since his F1 debut at the British Grand Prix in 2011, 257 races and 8 race wins later Daniel Ricciardo, one of the most loved Aussie drivers has officially said farewell to his F1 career. Dropped by Visa Cash App RB (more on that later) ahead of a conveniently long 4 week hiatus in the F1 calendar, Danny is set to be replaced by Liam Lawson who will drive along side Yuki Tsunoda for the remainder of the season.
With the rumours swirling in Singapore, he donned a fresh set of softs to claim the fastest lap of the race, feeling like a last ditch send off on the back of an average race, also breaking the fastest lap record at the Marina Bay Circuit. Entering the teams hospitality to an applause, Danny teared up in an emotional post race interview, confirming (without confirming) that it was going to be his last race.
I just wanted to savour the moment.
Although he deservingly earned the fans vote for driver of the day in a heartfelt tribute, with the official announcement only made a couple days later, fans were left without any proper Seb-Vet-like send off, feeling like a twist of the knife by the Red Bull family. Not to mention the fact that he will be replaced in Austin, his second home race 😭 (infamously riding into the paddock on a horse in 2022).
To preface this is no hate to Liam Lawson. Showcasing his talent after replacing Daniel last year when he broke his wrist at the Dutch Grand Prix in 2023, Liam has proven that he deserves the drive, and from a performance perspective I see the need for RB to promote young drivers, especially considering their trajectory. I mean if Max ever decides to leave their cooked; they wouldn’t promote Yuki if he won a championship and they’ve got Checco fighting with Nico Hülkenberg/ his crush Franco Colapinto 💘 (alleged alleged alleged). So the decision to drop Danny now is no surprise, but the fact that Pierre had a more heartfelt send off for Danny than his own team speaks volumes…
Congrats on your career DR!! A huge lot to be proud of!! I will always remember that one time you showed up in the paddock riding that horse, hell yeah!! One of a kind, and enjoyed those late dive bombs of yours, we will miss you in the paddock honey badger. All the best on your next adventures and enchanté buddy!! @danielricciardo
Thank you Daniel 💙
Laurent Mekies on Daniel: “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.
He deserved so much better 😭😭. Scrolling to see the girlies edits to Iris and You’re Gonna Go Far every second reel are whole other planet of torture.
Aside from the bad blood ❤️🔥, it will be interesting to see how VCARB will now play out with their sponsorship deals. As probably the most liked driver in the paddock, Daniel brings major cash backing, so with him now gone things should get spicy… My king 👑 Kym Illman commented:
Daniel's management company CAA (Creative Artist Agency) reportedly brought Visa and Cash App to the team. Since these companies are the major sponsors of VCarb, they would have exercised a considerable one pressure on the team to keep Ricciardo driving their single-seater.
#tea 👀 watch this space…
Although there is a slight possibility he could be signed with Steak for 2024, it is looking likely that this will be the end of his F1 journey.
I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey.
While he had been under performing for the majority of the 2024 season, this bittersweet close to his time in the cockpit shouldn’t be tainted by VCARB’s lowly performances. His undeniable talent and brilliant performances are to be applauded, not to mention his remarkable 4th place performance in the Miami Sprint earlier this year.
Brining the sport to so many new fans with the infamous opening line on Drive to Survive: “I’m Daniel Ricciardo and I'm a car mechanic,” the fun loving larrikin has brought so much joy to the paddock. From fans to team mates alike, it’s safe to say that the honey badger 🍯 🦡 touched so many hearts and his infectious smile will be sorely missed. Enjoy the butterflies 🦋.
Race week recap: Singapore
Singapore podium: P1 - Lando Norris, P2 - Max Verstappen, P3 - Oscar Piastri
Driver of the day: Daniel Ricciardo
Fastest lap: Daniel Ricciardo
General recap: The Singapore Grand Prix was a mediocre race to say the least. As the first Singapore GP in history to not have a safety car, this year proved to be a bit of a snoozefest with Lando Norris leading from start to finish (not that I’m complaining as a Lando girlie), breaking his 1st lap curse (take that haters).
Key takeaways:
Franco Colapinto had a superb 4 car overtake on turn 1 with Sergio Perez praising his drive over the team radio. Alex Albon on the other hand, may be the biggest looser from the race. Perhaps under pressure from finally having a teammate who doesn’t consistently come 18th, he contrasted Franco, DNFing on lap 17 but not before loosing 4 places on turn 1 🫣.
Mercedes decided to screw Lewis from the beginning. Starting on softs they banked on an early safety car which never came…
Ferrari’s average performance while disappointing, was to be expected, picking up the pieces after suffering from a poor qualifying. With Carlos crashing out in Q3 and Charles only coming in one place ahead of him in P9, P5 and P7 wasn’t too shabby.
McLaren continued to assert their dominance with Lando finishing 20 seconds ahead of Max. Although Oscar finished 41 seconds behind his teammate, he still finished 3rd after the lack of clear air and battle with George slowed his campaign.
Book worthy of George Russel: The Poppy War
I recently finished reading The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang and OMG it is probably the most spectacular book I’ve read in my whole life. As a beautiful epic fantasy dripping in bloody parallels with Chinese history this story genuinely touched my soul and I could not recommend it more!!
WAG of the week: Kika
Attending a Louboutin event in Paris, Kika and Pierre ateeeee. Kika looked stunning as always and Pierre officially entered his 2013 Harry Styles boyband era 🎤.
In other news:
Charles Leclerc and my fellow Potter-heads are mourning the loss of my queen Dame Maggie Smith who died aged 89, rest in peace 🕊️. Literally so devo, and the fact that Maggie Smith (McGonagall) died on the same day one year apart from Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) is not ok 😭. A truely sad day for the wizarding world.
Lights out until next time
🏎️
Charlotte