Round 18 of this year’s Formula One (F1) season took place on Sunday in Singapore at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. After 61 laps, Daniel Ricciardo was the last driver to cross the finish line, ending up in eighteenth place (P18) after two drivers retired from the race. The 35-year-old driver for Visa CashApp RB was voted Driver of the Day by fans, beating out the actual victor of the race: McLaren driver Lando Norris.
Ricciardo currently sits P14 in the Drivers Standings with 12 points, 10 points behind his younger teammate Yuki Tsunoda. He qualified P16 on Saturday, but ended the race in last place after a late pit stop that allowed him to put on fresh tires and take home the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:34:486 seconds.
Ricciardo earned no points in Singapore, as the point awarded for completing the fastest lap of a race is only applied if the driver finished in one of the top ten positions. His record was significant, however, as it took away the point from Norris — who had set the previous fastest lap — and minimized the point gap between him and defending champion Max Verstappen, who qualified and finished the race P2.
“Thank you, Daniel,” Max Verstappen said, Ricciardo’s ex-teammate, over the radio after he was informed by his team.
“If Max wins the championship by a point then I have guaranteed myself a nice Christmas present,” Ricciardo said after the race.
Ricciardo does not currently have a contract signed to race in 2025; questions were raised this weekend about whether he would even finish out the year with his current team. RB reserve driver Liam Lawson is rumored to take his place for the rest of the season and in 2025, having previously replaced him in 2023 for five races after Ricciardo was unable to race due to injury.
“I have to be prepared for maybe this being it. Let’s say I’m at peace with it. At some point it comes for all of us,” Ricciardo said when asked if he would be racing in the upcoming Grand Prix in the United States. “I put my best foot forward, let’s say the fairytale ending didn’t happen but I also have to look back on what it’s been. Thirteen or so years and I’m proud.”
“Given this may have been Daniel’s last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savor it and go out with the fastest lap,” RB team principal Laurent Mekies said of their strategy.
Fans are now waiting for confirmation in the upcoming days on whether Ricciardo will finish out the season or if Singapore was indeed his final performance in F1.
Round 19 of the 2024 F1 season will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday Oct. 20 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
