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Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he hid a deep sense of humiliation from the public when Racing Bulls replaced him with Liam Lawson in 2024. He also says that by the end he no longer had the will to fight for his seat. Speaking on F1's official Beyond the Grid podcast, the Australian said he chose to stop resisting and let his replacement have the drive.
Ricciardo's last Formula 1 race was the Singapore Grand Prix on 22 September 2024. RB only confirmed his exit after that weekend, but the paddock already knew Lawson would take over for the last six races of the season. Ricciardo then retired instead of trying for another comeback.
Ricciardo says he 'was done' fighting for his seat
The eight-time Grand Prix winner said that in public he acted as if nothing was wrong. "People saw me out in public. I was having a good time and having a drink or whatever, and I was just really hiding from what I really felt deep inside, which was a lot of pain and sadness," he said.
He explained that he saw the end of his career as a personal failure. "It's then a sense of humiliation, like I failed and I didn't do what I once could," Ricciardo said. "That was the first phase of thinking everything was okay, but obviously I was very hurt inside."
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Ricciardo also lost the motivation to keep fighting, with Red Bull's management set on giving the seat to their next academy graduate. He described the moment with a boxing image:
By that point, I was done. I was done getting knocked down and getting beat up. I was just like, 'I don't think I can stand up anymore.' We'll let the bell ring and we'll let the opponent win.- Daniel Ricciardo on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast
Lawson faces his own wait on a Racing Bulls seat
Ricciardo has never blamed Lawson for what happened. Earlier this year, Lawson told the Gypsy Tales podcast, that the Australian "never said a bad word and was always good to me." Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Ricciardo also turned up at a gig in Austin where Lawson topped the bill playing his guitar.
Racing Bulls have not confirmed their 2027 line-up and are still weighing whether to promote F2 contender Nikola Tsolov. If they do, Lawson would be the driver to lose his seat. Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has backed Tsolov for the seat. However, it is widely expected that Lawson and Arvid Lindblad to stay together, as GPblog reported.
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Lawson himself is no closer to an answer. Asked after Austin when he expects a decision, the New Zealander said: "I've no idea, man."
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