‘I have to be prepared for this being it’ – Emotional Ricciardo ‘at peace’ if Singapore turns out to be final Grand Prix

A tearful Daniel Ricciardo admitted that the Singapore Grand Prix may have been his last appearance in Formula 1, with the eight-time race winner left to reflect on a disappointing evening at the Marina Bay Street Circuit as questions loom over his future.

Following his second consecutive Q1 exit on Saturday in Singapore, Ricciardo started the race from P16 on the soft tyre, but could do little to make progress on his alternative strategy.

READ MORE: Norris dominates Singapore GP to cut Verstappen’s title lead again

Running at the back of the field in the final laps, Ricciardo’s RB team pulled him in for new soft tyres, allowing the Australian to take the fastest lap point away from eventual winner Lando Norris in a bid to help Max Verstappen’s title bid for sister team Red Bull, as Ricciardo crossed the line in P18.

“A tough race,” said the Australian. “Any time you’re out in Q1, you know you’ve got potentially a long day. I had to try something with strategy, and you never know here with the Safety Car, it could work in your favour. Obviously there wasn’t a Safety Car today, so yeah, obviously our strategy then came a little undone, but I think ultimately we just weren’t quick enough.

“At the end we were there, not really in any position, so we tried to go for fastest lap and I guess it helped maybe Max out by Abu Dhabi. Maybe there’s a Christmas present coming if he wins by a point!”

Rumours had swirled in the build up to the Singapore Grand Prix that Ricciardo could be replaced at RB by Liam Lawson for the final six races of 2024, potentially bringing the eight-time Grand Prix winner’s career to an end. And speaking after the race, Ricciardo gave his most clear indication yet that this weekend might indeed be the end of the F1 road for him.

READ MORE: Verstappen calls P2 in Singapore ‘good achievement’ but insists Red Bull ‘have to improve’ for future races

Referring to his fastest lap attempt, Ricciardo said: “It was maybe just to have one last crack at doing a fast one, if it is to be it.”

Pushed on whether that meant Singapore may have been his last Grand Prix, Ricciardo replied: “Possibly, I have to acknowledge that. It’s been a little bit of a race-by-race situation and I would have obviously loved the weekend to have gone better. It didn’t, so I have to prepared for this maybe being it.

“I do feel, let’s say, at peace with it,” added Ricciardo, who came back to F1 with RB midway through 2023 after being dropped by McLaren. “At some point, it’ll come for all of us… I think also, I tried to get back into Red Bull, it didn’t work out, so then I also have to say, ‘Okay, what else am I ultimately doing here and trying to achieve?’... Let’s say maybe the fairytale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on what it’s been. Fourteen or so years and I’m proud.

“I think when you’ve experienced the highs of winning, you can only fight for P10 for so long. There is nothing like that feeling, and if that no longer is possible, and if it is becoming a little harder – that’s the truth: I was able to do some moments of maybe greatness this year, but it was trickier to do it week in, week out. Maybe that’s [being] 35, maybe that’s the competition’s getting better and better. Who knows?”

READ MORE: ‘We were flying the whole race’ – Norris hails ‘amazing’ Singapore win despite ‘too many close calls’

After being voted Driver of the Day, meanwhile, Ricciardo was spotted taking his time getting out of the cockpit of his RB in parc ferme, the Australian appearing to savour the final moments with the car after a gruelling 62-lap race.

Asked what had been going through his mind, an emotional Ricciardo replied: “A lot of emotions, because – look I’m aware it could be it, and I think it’s also just [being] exhausted after the race. So it’s like a flood of many emotions and feelings and exhaustion.

“The cockpit is something that I got very used to for many years,” added the veteran of 257 Grand Prix starts, tearing up. “I just wanted to savour the moment.”

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