by VALERIO BARRETTA
Ricciardo, future in great discussion
Looking Daniel in the face Richard After the Singapore Grand Prix there was no doubt that the Australian was in his last race in Formula 1. The Australian appeared tired and demoralized, and although the decision to promote Liam Lawson has yet to be made official, he confirmed with words and body language that the road to separation was well underway.
Ricciardo could end his Formula 1 career, therefore, with eight victories and a final race in which he lent himself to Red Bull’s team play. RB, the “little sister” of the Milton Keynes team, asked him to return to the pits at the end of the Singapore GP to fit soft tyres and take the fastest lap point away from Lando Norris, who was in the midst of the championship fight against Max Verstappen.
Mekies’ words
RB’s move has sparked controversy and angered McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who has always been against timeshare ownership in F1. Faenza team principal Laurent Mekies However, he defended the choice, which he said was made to give Ricciardo a better exit: “Since this could be Daniel’s last race, we wanted to give him the chance to enjoy it and go out with the fastest lap.”, explained the Frenchman. “Now we have a few weeks to prepare our last effort for the final part of the championship. The competition is tighter than ever and we will give it our all”.
Of course, one can discuss the appropriateness of RB’s choice, also considering that Ricciardo did not need a fast lap to close his career. It must be reiterated that this is a decision that has yet to be made official, just as Sergio Perez’s farewell (which then did not happen) during the summer break had yet to be made official. If Czechhowever, had always claimed not to pay attention to speculation, the same cannot be said of the Australian: it was the same Honey Badger to define his farewell to Formula 1 before Austin as “probable”.
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