According to a motorsport legend, Daniel Ricciardo should be shown the door in Formula 1 as he “has had his time.” Despite his poor performance with only one points finish in seven races last year, he managed to keep his spot with sister team RB.
However, this season he has been outperformed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who has consistently outqualified Ricciardo in all four races and earned all of RB’s points so far. The 34-year-old had been previously tipped for a promotion to the main Red Bull team next year but is now at risk of losing his current seat, with rising talent Liam Lawson waiting for his first full-time F1 drive.
Lawson, who was present at the Japanese Grand Prix and witnessed Ricciardo’s crash on the first lap, was seen near the disgruntled-looking Ricciardo in the RB garage, potentially indicating what’s to come. The legend quoted, “Should Daniel Ricciardo finish the season with RB?
Lawson was standing behind looking like ‘Yes, yes.’ If I were him, I’d have my phone charged all the time.
Please give the opportunity to someone else – [Ricciardo] has had his time.” Following his short-lived run at Suzuka, Ricciardo dismissed any suggestion that his crash was due to a rough patch in his recent performance.
He stated, “I think today is a singular moment, I guess, in terms of, I don’t look at today and think, ‘Oh man this year, like when it rains, it pours’, or whatever.”
