RB boss declares ‘Ricciardo bigger than F1’

Ricciardo was dropped from RB following the Singapore Grand Prix in favour of Liam Lawson.

It was a bizarre weekend as, while news was only confirmed a week later, Ricciardo’s fate was widely known heading into the Marina Bay event – a point made by Lawson.

However, it was never formally acknowledged, and saw the Australian face a barrage of awkward questions throughout the weekend.

He then received an emotional and rousing reception when he returned to the RB hospitality suite following the race in what amounted to an unofficial F1 send-off.

Red Bull has copped flak over its handling of the situation, with Mekies conceding it was a frustrating situation as all involved had agreed not to make the announcement in Singapore.

“It was frustrating,” he began.

“It was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way.

“First of all, for him on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him.

“Daniel was aware [Singapore was his final race],” Mekies added.

“We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose together to go into that weekend without announcing.

“From that point on, we had to deal with it.

“It’s a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently, but it’s something that we were both the team and the drivers were on board to go through that.”

However, while Mekies accepts it was a frustrating end to Ricciardo’s career, he argues the eight-time race winner still received the appreciation from the sport he deserved.

“We all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel, from the fans to Daniel,” Mekies said.

“I don’t know if it would have been better or worse [to have formally announced Singapore was his final race], certainly different, more traditional.

“But I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend was something outstanding, and something that shows that he is bigger than an F1 driver, he’s bigger than F1.”

Since Singapore, Ricciardo has kept a comparatively low profile. Invited to Circuit of The Americas for this weekend’s event, Ricciardo is not in attendance.

Social media images of the 35-year-old have shown him riding motorbikes with friends and smiling while wearing a cap emblazoned with “I’m retired.”