Daniel Ricciardo's potential farewell at Singapore Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

RB principal Laurent Mekies has stirred speculation that the Singapore Grand Prix might have been Daniel Ricciardo's final appearance in Formula 1. Mekies alluded to this possibility by explaining the team's decision to afford Ricciardo the opportunity to set the fastest lap during the race.

"Given this may have been Daniel's last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savour it and go out with the fastest lap," Mekies stated.

Ricciardo's last-minute fast lap, while understandable, sparked controversy for affecting the championship battle. McLaren's title contender and race winner, Lando Norris, missed out on a point in his fight against Red Bull's Max Verstappen as a result. Verstappen's lead over Norris increased to 52 points instead of 51 following Singapore, highlighting the strategic significance of Ricciardo's lap.

Although Ricciardo finished 18th and did not benefit from the extra point—an accolade only available to drivers within the top 10—it didn't diminish the emotional impact of the gesture. Verstappen expressed his gratitude to Ricciardo after the race.

McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella voiced his discontent but refrained from outright accusations of collusion.

"At no point do I have elements now to say Racing Bulls went for the fastest lap to support Red Bull, I just find it a little peculiar. I did not see it coming," Stella remarked. He added, "I was a little surprised that the highest priority of Racing Bull's racing in Singapore was to go and score the fastest lap of the race. At the same time, I have so much sympathy, support and friendship with Daniel that I'm just happy that he may add this fastest lap to his track record."

Red Bull's principal, Christian Horner, underscored that Ricciardo "obviously wanted to finish the race on a high."

Future line-up shifts

Ricciardo's potential exit paves the way for New Zealand's Liam Lawson to join RB, although the team has yet to finalize next year's driver line-up alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

"We've now got a period of time where we'll evaluate all of the relative performances of all of the drivers. It's a natural break in the season to reflect on that," Horner explained. He continued, "There's a bigger picture obviously beyond Daniel so he's just one part of the jigsaw. I think that we know Daniel very well, we know what he's capable of, how he drives a car so we have that knowledge."

As the season progresses, the next few weeks will be crucial for RB and Red Bull in determining the future of their driver rosters and evaluating their strategic moves heading into the coming seasons.

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