F1 fans have been left furious with Red Bull after Daniel Ricciardo's replacement Liam Lawson has shed more light on the mid-season driver change.
On Thursday it was finally confirmed that Ricciardo would be replaced by Liam Lawson at RB for the remainder of the season with the Australian left seatless and out of the sport for good.
Lawson certainly deserves his opportunity after impressing after deputising for Ricciardo last season following a broken wrist sustained at the Dutch GP.
Ricciardo was signed to RB in an attempt to get him back partnering Max Verstappen in the main team, but after failing to outscore his more inexperienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda, the decision to axe Ricciardo completely was made.
Advert
Following the news, Ricciardo took to Instagram and released the following statement.
"I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey," he began.
"To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me, haha, thank you.
"It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure," he added.
Over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, it was highly reported that Ricciardo could be about the lose his seat to Lawson, however, everyone involved insisted the decision hadn't been made.
Speaking after the announcement, Lawson revealed that the decision HAD in fact been made weeks before Ricciardo's last race.
"It had been the plan for a long time now where this is where it was leading at least," Lawson explained.
"Obviously I had a contract date that needed to be fulfilled so basically it was going towards this way, and then a couple of weeks ago they told me what was going to happen. And then basically not long after that, it was set in stone."
While the decision to let Ricciardo go does make sense on a performance level, seeing a driver with 8 wins and 32 podiums across a 13-year career leave in such fashion is not a good look for Red Bull.
Following the news, fans have taken to social media to slam RB for their treatment of Ricciardo, who has always been a fan favourite.
One fan wrote: "Not giving Daniel Ricciardo a proper goodbye is utterly mystifying."
Another explained: "The whole situation has been dealt with disgracefully. Deserved a proper final race, deserved to be able to speak about it openly so he could fully thank his fans. Absolute joke."
A third commented: "Shocking way to announce Daniel’s departure. Do better."
Topics: Daniel Ricciardo, Formula 1
Tom Jenkins