19/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Daniel Ricciardo has played down talk that he could be replaced by Liam Lawson after this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.
Helmut Marko, who had previously revealed that the New Zealander has a clause in his contract which makes him a free agent if he hasn't secured a seat on the 2025 grid with one of the Red Bull teams by mid-September, the Austrian having previously insisted that the kiwi would be on the grid.
Going into this weekend's race there has been speculation that Ricciardo would be dropped to make way for Lawson, thereby giving the New Zealander the opportunity to prepare for 2025.
"I do expect a yes or no for '25," Ricciardo told reporters in Singapore, "and I'm aware of some talk and speculation about the rest of the season," he added.
"For me, at the moment, I'm unaware of... so the decision I expect is for next year," he insisted.
"Obviously crazy things have happened in the sport," he admitted. "And I'm not going to stand here too boastful and confident that, oh yeah, I believe I will be."
Ahead of the summer break there was talk of the Australian and Sergio Perez being dropped, most likely with the Mexican heading to RB while his seat alongside Max Verstappen was filled by Lawson. However both drivers appeared to be given the all-clear.
In recent days however, the speculation over Ricciardo's future has resurfaced in the media, but he insists that all appears well within the team.
"Honestly, nothing's changed," he said. "Some of the noise around has changed, obviously saying will I even see out the season. But after the August break selection period, then it was just okay, contract is this, so we're going to basically make the decision for next season based after Singapore.
"I'm aware of other stuff that's going around," he added, "that's why I semi-addressed that. But from my understanding, it's all for '25."
Following this weekend's race the sport takes another three-week break. Asked if he could be dropped this time around, he said: "I don't think so, but I also don't want to stand here and be the lawyer.
"I would say no, but also, we know how this sport works. People have not seen through a season before, so it's nothing new in some ways. I don't' want to also be like oh no, 100 percent, I'll bet my house on it, I've just been around too long."
Asked, should the worst happen, if he has considered life after F1, he said: "IndyCar still scares me!
"Look, I've thought about it because I also thought about it a couple years ago when I knew that I wasn't going to start the '23 season," he added. "But I know I'm still a competitor. I know I still have a lot of fire in me, but maybe that itch is scratched doing something else. I don't know. We'll see.
"It's hard, like even talking about, just being in the sport and fighting for maybe a tenth place every now and then. It's maybe the same with doing another series. And no disrespect to other series, I'm a fan of, NASCAR and a lot of other forms of motorsport, but because I've been there and experienced the highest of highs, will I get true fulfilment doing something else and no guarantee I'll be awesome doing something else?
"Is that going to actually scratch the itch and give me what I want? I don't know. I'd probably say more no than yes, but these are things I'll think about if I'm not in this position."