Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 Exit: Why He Left and What’s Next

F1 seasons: 14 (2011–2024) ·
Grand Prix wins: 8 ·
Career podiums: 32 ·
Last F1 team: RB Formula One Team (2023–2024) ·
Best championship finish: 3rd (2014, 2016)

Eight career numbers, one pattern: every stat that defined Ricciardo’s run — wins, podiums, poles, championship results — is part of the official F1 record.

What has happened to Daniel Ricciardo?

Ricciardo’s RB demotion and final F1 races

• On 26 September 2024, RB announced Ricciardo’s immediate departure (Formula1.com (F1’s official site)), four days after his final F1 start in Singapore (Drive (Australian motoring outlet))
• Liam Lawson took the RB seat for the remaining six races of the 2024 season (7NEWS Australia (national broadcaster))

The team later confirmed Ricciardo had been told before the weekend that he would lose the seat; both sides agreed to delay the news so Singapore could stay about racing, not sackings.

Where Ricciardo ended his Formula 1 career

Final race: 2024 Singapore Grand Prix ·
Final F1 team: RB Formula One Team ·
Age at exit: 35 ·
F1 career: 2011–2024

Ricciardo was 35 when the announcement landed — an age at which F1 teams usually look forward, not back. His fastest lap in Singapore, set on fresh tyres in the closing laps, became the emotional peak of the weekend, even if the fresh set made it as much a team decision as a driver moment. The implication: RB did not just replace Ricciardo — it staged a farewell that let his final stat line end on a high note.

Why has Daniel Ricciardo left F1?

RB’s decision to replace Ricciardo

RB framed the seat change as a straight decision about its own future: Liam Lawson needed the final six races of 2024 to audition for a full-time role. Ricciardo, at 35, did not fit that plan. His removal was immediate, but his departure was anything but cold — the team gave him a farewell moment, fresh tyres and a fastest lap, then confirmed the change four days later. What made the decision sting was the timing of the information — Ricciardo knew before Singapore, and RB team principal Laurent Mekies later said both sides chose not to announce it in advance, avoiding a media circus around the weekend.

Performance and contract factors

2024 RB seat: vacated ·
Replacement: Liam Lawson ·
Races left in 2024: 6

On pure results, Ricciardo’s 2024 was not the disaster his critics claimed. But it was also not a convincing case for renewal, and RB’s midfield ambitions demanded a longer view. CNN reported that Ricciardo had even been linked with a possible return to the senior Red Bull squad before RB ended his second stint — a sign that the decision was about the team’s future, not his past. The trade-off: RB got a younger driver’s evaluation; Ricciardo got the dignified ending he wanted. Whether Lawson proved faster was a question for 2025 — one the team was willing to wait for.

Is Daniel Ricciardo retiring from Formula 1?

What Ricciardo said about retirement

Ricciardo never used the word “retirement” in his farewell message. What he told CNN at the moment of the announcement was that he could feel proud of his career even if it ended then — and that his original ambition had been to become world champion. Since leaving RB, he has not ruled out a return, but he has also stopped short of demanding one. No team has officially confirmed him for a 2025 race seat.

His status as a former F1 driver

Status: former F1 driver ·
2025 race seat: none confirmed ·
Retirement announced: no

Race summaries now list Ricciardo as a former F1 driver, and the label is technically accurate: he holds no seat. But “former” in F1 often means “between contracts,” and Ricciardo’s public posture has kept the next chapter deliberately open. The implication: retirement is a word Ricciardo has not chosen. His is not a closed career — it’s a career waiting for an excuse to reopen.

Is Daniel Ricciardo coming back to racing?

Ricciardo’s ambassadorial and Ford racing ties

• Ambassador for Ford Racing
• Founder of Enchante, a spirits brand
• Business partner in Dabble’s tailgate venture

None of these roles is a race seat. But together they show where Ricciardo’s value now sits: less in lap times, more in the persona he built — the Honey Badger, the shoey, the grin that sponsors trust.

Potential racing categories for Ricciardo

Endurance racing is the natural fit — shorter calendar, shared pressure, and a team culture built for drivers who still love driving. A full-time F1 return is a different question. ESPN’s career retrospective framed Ricciardo as modern F1’s ultimate “what if” case: a driver with eight wins and three pole positions who never got the title fight his talent deserved (ESPN (sports broadcaster)).

For the full chronology of the exit, our related reading: Daniel Ricciardo: What Happened, Why He Left, What’s Next.

The pattern: Ricciardo’s value in the paddock has shifted from seat-warmer to insurance policy, making his next move a matter of opportunity rather than desperation.

Are Verstappen and Ricciardo still friends?

Red Bull teammates history and friendship

• Teammates at Red Bull Racing from 2016 to 2018
• Ricciardo left for Renault after the 2018 season
• The friendship outlasted the team pairing

Their bond predates the team politics. Ricciardo and Verstappen shared a Red Bull garage for three seasons, and their dynamic — the older Australian’s humour, the younger Dutchman’s intensity — became one of the paddock’s most marketable pairings. When Ricciardo moved to Renault, the split stayed respectful, and both drivers have referenced the partnership warmly since. Verstappen has spoken positively about Ricciardo’s character and racing ability, and Ricciardo has returned the respect. Their bond survived the team breakup because it was built on something rarer than results. For more, our related reading: Daniel Ricciardo: The Honey Badger’s F1 Exit & Future.

Why this matters: whatever Ricciardo does next, he keeps a rare F1 asset — friends, not grudges, at the top of the grid.

Daniel Ricciardo F1 timeline: 2011–2024

Six chapters of an F1 career, one pattern: each move reset expectations, and each exit created a fresh round of “what next?” speculation.

What’s confirmed and what’s unclear

The calibration: treat the confirmed list as settled history and the unclear list as an open map. The one thing the sources agree on is that Ricciardo’s next move is genuinely undecided.

In their own words: Ricciardo and RB on the exit

Two voices frame the farewell better than any summary: Ricciardo’s own sign-off, and the team’s explanation of how it was handled.

A wild and wonderful journey … Until the next adventure.

Daniel Ricciardo, farewell message on leaving RB (Formula1.com (F1’s official site))

Ricciardo knew he was out before Singapore.

RB team principal Laurent Mekies’ explanation, as reported by Reuters (international wire service)

The takeaway: the farewell was coordinated, not improvised. Ricciardo got the last word he wanted, and RB got the driver change it needed.

The takeaway: what Ricciardo’s exit really means

Ricciardo’s F1 exit was a farewell dressed as a driver change — decided before Singapore, softened with a fastest lap, and sealed with a “next adventure” that pointed beyond F1. For Australian fans, the choice is how to follow him now: as the Ford ambassador and brand builder he is becoming, or as the race-winner they still want to see return. For any team needing a proven race-winner mid-2025, Ricciardo is the obvious phone call; for everyone else, the next announcement to watch is whatever he chooses to race next.

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