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As first reported by Speedcafe, Ricciardo was dumped by the Red Bull-owned operation on Thursday, bringing an end to a career that netted eight grand prix wins.
It was an anticlimactic conclusion to what had been a storied career: a social media statement and a press release from RB that failed to include a single word from the Australian.
While Thursday confirmed Ricciardo’s fate, it had been painfully clear a week earlier that the Singapore Grand Prix was his final race.
The 35-year-old did his best to swat away the inevitable questions surrounding his future as speculation ran rampant, though the writing was on the wall, and not for the first time.
For the second time in as many years, Ricciardo’s F1 career had been ended, and not on his terms.
The difference this time around is there was no safety net.
At the end of 2022, having been axed by McLaren a year early, Red Bull offered him a lifeline.
Sapped of confidence and no longer in love with the sport, it was a way to remain involved and maybe, just maybe, find a way back in.
And so it transpired. But now, less than two years later, and the dream is over, without the fairy-tale finish.
This time, there is no safety net, no final chance.
“Obviously last year it made a lot of sense to keep one foot in the door, and obviously big picture was to try and get back a Red Bull,” Ricciardo said of falling back into a reserve role.
“I think if I was to do that again, there’s not really… I’m not going to restart my career.
“I’m also 35 and I still showed the pace that I’ve had over the years, but it’s obviously been evident that it’s been harder for me to show it every weekend.
“Maybe that is a little bit of an age thing. I think it definitely came easier for me when I was 25 as opposed to 35 but also, maybe the competition is just increasing.
“That’s probably a common thing with all sports; simulators are getting better, the kids are getting younger, so naturally that, and they have access to all on boards now – they can watch and study everyone.
“So, yeah, maybe it’s just the levels increased.
“It’s probably a tall task for me to fight at that level, week in, week out.”
“I can’t be disappointed with that.”
Having returned to the grid midway through 2023 in place of Nyck de Vries, Ricciardo did show flashes of the pace that netted him eight race wins.
But they were the high points rather than the norm, and a spate of disappointing results at the start of the year did him no favours.
He was a match for team-mate Yuki Tsunoda when the expectation was that he’d be the clear leader of the team.
And at 35, time was against him; he couldn’t afford to hang around in the hope of turning things around, and nor could the team, especially with 22-year-old Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.
“I’m happy that once upon a time, I could do it, and that was a lot of fun,” Ricciardo said of his time in F1.
“I want to make sure I walk away, or leave the sport, with good memories of it, and it doesn’t get into that place where it’s just a grind and I’m out in Q1 every weekend.
“That’s obviously not fun.”
In Singapore, Ricciardo was eliminated in Q1. He pounded around Marina Bay to 18th place, for which he was charitably voted Driver of the Day.
When he reached parc ferme, he sat in his car a while, savouring it before climbing out for the final time.
After completing his media commitments he returned to the RB hospitality suite to a standing ovation and a guard of honour.
It wasn’t the send-off he deserved or would have planned, but at the end of an emotionally traumatic weekend, it generated one last smile.
Then came the tears, together with the realisation that this time, it really is over.
