Ricciardo ended the race a lowly 18th, though claimed fastest lap and won the driver of the day vote, in a touching acknowledgement of his race-winning career from fans.
His parting gift came in service of Red Bull, the squad that gave him his break in the sport, his fastest lap denying former team-mate Lando Norris the point as he helped Max Verstappen’s championship quest.
Following the race, Ricciardo spoke at length with the media before returning to the RB hospitality suite, where he was welcomed with a standing ovation and a guard of honour in an emotionally charged send off.
As Ricciardo pulled into parc ferme at the conclusion of the race, he remained in the cockpit of his car for some time.
“The cockpit is something that I got very used to for many years,” he said, fighting back tears.
“Just wanted to savour the moment.”
While no formal announcement has been made, it is expected Ricciardo will not race in the United States Grand Prix next month.
“Obviously there is a realistic chance it’s not going to happen,” he admitted.
“It’s been a very race-by-race situation with Red Bull, I think for all of us in a way, obviously Checo [Sergio Perez] as well.
“At times it feels like it’s going one way, then it goes the other.
“There was a lot of emphasis on this weekend. I would have loved a better weekend and who knows if that would have changed anything, or if the decision’s been made already prior to the weekend.
“I’m obviously prepared for it,” he added of the prospect that his career is now over.
“That’s why, over the weekend, I tried to acknowledge a few things as well with myself.
“I think acknowledge also why I came back into the sport.
“I always said I don’t want to be a guy who’s just here on the grid and fighting for a point every now and then, which has kind of been how this year’s gone.
“The purpose was to try and do good enough to get back into Red Bull and fight for wins again, see if I’ve still got it.
“I felt like I came up short with that.”
It’s a stark and honest admission from the eight-time race winner, a driver once flagged as a potential world champion.
Ricciardo entered F1 midway through the 2011 season with HRT, moving to Toro Rosso for 2012 and finally on to Red Bull Racing when Mark Webber retired at the end of 2013.
He won three times in his first season with the squad, a campaign where four-time world champion, and Red Bull’s shining light Sebastian Vettel, went winless.
It marked the Australian out as a star, with his wide and ever-present style quickly becoming his trademark.
Four more wins followed before he elected to switch to Renault for 2019.
During a two-year stint with the Anglo-French squad there were hints of his Red Bull Racing form, but the car and the team were never in a position to deliver the same sort of success.
Hopes were high when it was announced with McLaren for 2021. It was a move that ultimately proved disastrous.
Though it netted victory at the Italian Grand Prix, the relationship never worked and even now, nobody truly understands why.
It ultimately ended with McLaren terminating his contract a year early, at the end of 2022, moving Ricciardo aside for Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo’s return to the F1 grid midway through last season came with the intent to rebuild his bruised reputation, having rebuilt his confidence working as a third driver with Red Bull Racing.
And, like at Renault, there were flashes of pace and the ‘old’ Ricciardo, but that consistent spark was missing.
Under pressure to retain his seat all season, with Liam Lawson waiting in the wings, the Kiwi looks set to finally get his chance, with fastest lap in Marina Bay the last hurrah for Ricciardo.
“I heard something about $3.5 million bonus for fastest lap – Red Bull was throwing some crazy number around,” he joked.
“Look, I tried obviously to enjoy it – a little bit like the end of ’22 at McLaren, obviously I was aware maybe that was my last race, so I tried to enjoy that.
“I think I’m in a much happier place in the sport now than I was then. If this was it, then let’s say I have a little bit more peace.
“I’m proud of the career; I tried to become world champion, I tried to become the best at something in the world. I think it is a tall ask that we ask from ourselves.
“Some achieve it, some don’t. In the end, if I came up a little short, I also can’t be too hard on myself.
“Happy with the effort I put in and for that there’s no sadness or feeling of regret for what could have been.”
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