You Know If This Is Daniel's Last Race The Thing That Really Gets Me Is The Horseshit Management Of Red

You know if this is Daniel's last race the thing that really gets me is the horseshit management of Red Bull/VCARB

Checo isn't fast enough. You're in danger of losing your constructors. So you decide you're probably going to put Daniel in the Red Bull seat in the summer. You send messages ahead to the next race to tell people not to put up Checo's promotional images.

Not so fast, Checo's sponsors say, so you leave Perez in the seat and give up on the constructors' because it's easier to get money from sponsorship than to cover the constructors'.

You want more points with VCARB, you say. You want more points but you keep effing up both your drivers with strategy and putting upgrades on the car that make them go backwards.

I know what we'll do, you say. We'll leave Daniel out for the wolves in Singapore and tell media that it isn't his last race until oops, it might be. We haven't told him though, so he can't say a proper goodbye if it is. We'll just hand him one last shit strategy and watch as he swallows it and takes fastest lap to help Max's championship. For shits and giggles we'll kill Yuki's strategy too, for fairness.

But if Daniel's gone after Singapore, what will Red Bull/VCARB do?

Let's see here. You have Checo, who went backwards in Singapore and can't help the constructors. You have Yuki, who's fast on track but can't give feedback well and has trouble keeping his emotions down on track. You have Liam, who's all well and deserving of a VCARB seat but won't be ready for Red Bull until a few years later.

You have nobody. You still haven't solved the problem of Max's teammate after six years. You refuse to let go of Checo, who shouldn't have been here after the summer break. You won't ever take the chance and promote Yuki to see if a stint in a senior team will work out for him. You'll have fired your best development and update feedback driver for your secondary team.

Carlos has gone to Williams. George, which Christian mentioned, won't ever leave Mercedes. Oscar and Lando will stay at McLaren. You asked Alex last year, and Alex laughed in your face.

And Max can no longer win the constructors' by himself in the car you give him.

It started in the summer break. Red Bull took a gun and pointed it in their own faces and slowly pulled back the trigger and it was only until now, six races from the end off the season, that we see what the bullet will do.

Italian Motorsport journalist Stefano Nicoli reflecting on Daniel Ricciardo's career

For the "Kansas City" move on Vettel in Monza in 2014. For the memes about that unfortunate pit stop in Monaco in 2016. For the win in Malaysia against Verstappen in the same year. For the triple overtake in Baku in 2017. For the middle finger to your teammate in Hungary in 2017. For the horrifying Texan beard you sported in Austin. For the 'Belly Flop' after the win in Monaco in 2018. For the pole position snatched away from Verstappen in Mexico in 2018. For the "Do you understand Italian? No? Then f*ck off!" on live television. For the victory at Monza in 2021. For the shoeys you did and made others do, for riding into the paddock on a horse equipped with it's own pass, for disintegrating a camper van together with Verstappen, for hitting Verstappen in Baku, for all the nonsensical braking you did, for almost knocking Norris out with a space hopper, for the kindness that I saw you show even and above all when the cameras were off, for the interviews you did without shoes because damn you had used them to drink from, for the gestures you made while you spoke because Italian genes - even if very distant - always find a way to come out. Choose for yourself what you will remember Daniel Ricciardo's Formula 1 career for. It seems to me that this big Australian fella, after all, has given us more than one reason to do so.

being indian. growing up with chota bheem and sinchan. slipping words of your mothertongue into english. Starbucks is cool but have you had ₹10 ka chai/coffee on a winter night? Branching out to listen to different kinds of music but realizing the best kind was always your own. dancing to balam pichkari during holi and coming to school with purple faces and pink hands. maybe you like pasta or pizza but comfort food is always maggi on rainy mornings. playing lagori on the streets and coming home with bleeding knees. Yeah marvel movies are nice but have you watched kuch kuch hota hai? wedding lunches on banana leaves and vanilla ice-cream after. holding hands in secret so that the neighbour wali aunties don’t see. ‘XOX’ and ‘bingo’ in the back of classmate notebooks. Festivals, festivals and more festivals. no matter how much you like wearing modern clothes dressing up in dhotis and lehengas is a different feeling. Watching every India-Pakistan match with a fervent intensity and uncles shouting that the umpire isn’t fair. eating golgappe under the shelter while it’s raining. being indian. and realizing that you love it.

i still think how daniel was walking around the paddock one last time and probably in his emotions a lot but he still took the time to smile brightly at this fan who was crying? and hugged her? like he didn't have to. his friends were leading him away. he still stopped, gave her the brightest, crinkliest smile, and gave her a hug. even in his own sadness he made sure to give her a good memory. and isn't that just the daniel ricciardo, people's princess, of it all?

Daniel dirt biking in California 10.4.2024

is this a safe space? i want to scream and shout and cry because that was HIS seat, his seat, his seat. But also. He’s no longer their lightning rod, he’s no longer the PR dream to hide behind, he will forever haunt their narrative at how they messed up, and he will always be Max’s equal. He’s not going to become a rear gunner for a team that didn’t love him enough to keep their promises to him, he’s not going to take heat off of them by being sweet and kind and funny. He’s not going to be the scapegoat for the ultimate decline they will face next year and the next.

i will tell myself to rest easy, because I know a year from now, Daniel’s decision to step away from the narrative will make perfect sense.