Ricciardo’s emotional final lap: “I just wanted to savor the moment”

As he unofficially bids farewell to the sport he’s called home for over 13 years, Daniel Ricciardo says there’s “no sadness or feeling of regret or what could have been” after finishing 18th, stealing the fastest lap, and being honoured by fans in Singapore.

Soaking up what seemed to be his last moments in the VCARB 01, Ricciardo was emotional as he arrived in the TV pen, hit with the realisation that he may have just completed his final race as a Formula 1 driver. 

“I’m obviously prepared, prepared for it, that’s why over the weekend I tried to acknowledge a few things as well with myself,” a teary-eyed Ricciardo said.

“Acknowledge also why I came back into the sport, sometimes you see the big picture and I always said I don’t want to be a guy who’s just here on the grid and fighting for a point every now and then, which has kind of been how this year’s gone. 

“Obviously, this year the purpose was to try and do good enough to get back into Red Bull and fight for wins again, see if I’ve still got it. 

“I felt like I came up short with that, so I think it’s then ‘OK, what else am I fighting for here, what else is going to give me fulfilment?’ — I’ve been a young driver as well and at some point I don’t just want to take up space also.

“Obviously you have to be selfish, but for me, if I’m not able to fight at the front with Red Bull, I have to ask myself what am I staying on the grid for – that’s something I’ve also come to peace with.”

Without an official announcement or confirmation from Red Bull or RB, however, paying tribute to the much-loved Paddock personality was an uncertain, but attempted task.

The Australian was greeted with a guard of honour as he arrived back to the RB hospitality unit, with Laurent Mekies even joining in as a member of the applauding RB crowd.

Ricciardo was reportedly the last driver to leave the circuit, finally swiping out at around 2:00 AM after saying his goodbyes to each individual team member.

Daniel Ricciardo on the grid prior to the Singapore Grand Prix. Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Fans also took matters into their own hands, voting the eight-time Grand Prix winner ‘Driver of The Day’ as the chequered flag fell in Singapore.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think the Driver of the Day normally means much to us drivers, it’s nice, but it’s not something to brag about,” Ricciardo said.

“But I think today the fans read the media and know this could be my last one, so I think that’s a really nice gesture from them and today it is appreciated, I do acknowledge that. 

“I thank them for being a part of it and acknowledging my efforts and my love for the sport. 

“Obviously there were times it tested me and I wasn’t always grinning ear to ear, but I felt like I always tried to have as much fun with it and leave as much as I could on track.”

His farewell race may not have reaped the rewards he was hoping for, but that’s not to say the Australian didn’t have his shining moments.

Starting on the dirty side of the track, Ricciardo and his team opted to start the race on the soft compound tyre, fearful of falling through the pack if they were to launch on the hards.

He held on to P16 through the first lap, settling into a lonely rhythm after losing touch with Alex Albon ahead.

With the undercut the target, Ricciardo was the first driver to make a pitstop on Lap 11, putting on a shiny set of hard tyres as he emerged in last place. 

Albon reacted to the Australian’s strategy on the following lap, successfully remaining ahead of Ricciardo as the pairing started to work their way back up to the rear of the field before the Williams driver retired due to overheating issues.

By the halfway mark of the 62-lap race, Ricciardo had picked off the two Sauber cars and was hunting Pierre Gasly down for P13.

Ricciardo passed the Frenchman on Lap 37, his last move before the pace of his VCARB 01 started to die down.

Daniel Ricciardo leads Pierre Gasly on track during the Singapore Grand Prix. Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Team orders understandably came into play when Yuki Tsunoda arrived on the scene just three laps later, growing frustrated with the team as he questioned why they were waiting to make the switch.

The Japanese driver was instructed to close the two-second gap up to Ricciardo, with the Australian not putting up a fight as he let Tsunoda by on the straight.

Lap 48 was anything but fun for Ricciardo, with the Australian losing three positions across the 4.9km run, including being the victim of a double overtake by Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen in the first sector. 

The positional losses prompted Ricciardo’s second visit to the pitlane at the end of the lap, seeing the Australian rejoining back in last place, 10 seconds behind Gasly.

What could have been a stagnant ending to a rollercoaster career was saved by a tactical favour issued by the Red Bull pit wall when Ricciardo was called in for one final stop in an attempt to steal the extra point for the fastest lap from Lando Norris.

“I had an idea [they called me in], but I also thought they were just letting me have some fun,” Ricciardo said.

“We were a long way out of the points, we tried softs, trying to be a bit more aggressive at the start and knew it’d be a bit of a tricky place to overtake. 

“We never know what happens on Lap 1, our starts haven’t been great this year and we’re on the dirty side so we thought, okay if we put a hard on, probably going to go backwards, so let’s put a soft on and see where it takes us and if it doesn’t do much for us, we can try and pit early and maybe undercut a few cars. 

“At the end of the day, we weren’t quick enough, I don’t know the full picture of Yuki’s race but also saw he was out of the points but maybe that’s also some confirmation that we didn’t quite have it today, so at the end, fastest lap.

“Kinda hoping Max wins by a point now, as I’ve guaranteed myself a very nice Christmas present, so, sorry Lando!”

18th placed Daniel Ricciardo speaks to the media after the Singapore Grand Prix. Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Ricciardo punched in a purple first sector, doing the same through Sectors 2 and 3 before the purple graphic appeared next to his name on the timing sheets after recording a time of 1:34.486s on Lap 60 of 62.

His efforts didn’t go unnoticed by his former teammate, the man whose championship hopes he was tasked with helping out when Max Verstappen thanked the Australian over the radio.

“I wish we were fighting for a little more in the race, I heard something about 3.5 million dollar bonus for fastest lap, Red Bull was throwing some crazy number around!” Ricciardo said.

“Look, I tried to obviously enjoy it, a little bit like the end of 2022 at McLaren, obviously I was aware maybe that was my last race, so I tried to enjoy that.

“I think I’m in a much happier place in the sport now than I was then, if this was it then, I have a little bit more peace, I’m proud of the career, I tried to become World Champion, I tried to become the best at something in the world, I think it is a tall task that we ask from ourselves, some achieve it, some don’t. 

“In the end, if I came up a little short, I also can’t be too hard on myself.

“Happy with the effort I put in and for that there’s no sadness or feeling or regret of what could have been.”

An official announcement on Ricciardo’s future should be made in the coming days, with New Zealand’s talented Liam Lawson hopeful of securing his chance to prove himself for the remaining six races of the 2024 season, the first kicking off in three weeks’ time at Ricciardo’s favourite event in Austin.

Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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