Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies says his team has taken collective responsibility for Daniel Ricciardo’s failure to achieve success. He claims they “didn’t keep him in the right place enough.”
Ricciardo’s departure from Red Bull’s sister team came earlier this season after poor form in the run-up to the Singapore Grand Prix.
It comes after Helmut Marko admitted in a column with SpeedWeek that Red Bull Racing had given him a ‘second chance that no one else would have given the Australian driver’, adding that the Australian had ‘lost his killer instinct’.
Christian Horner later shed some light on the situation following Ricciardo’s departure, telling The Times: “I think it was due to a lack of consistency.” He then revealed that Marko ‘wanted Ricciardo out of the car’ at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
The 35-year-old had found it difficult to deliver consistent performances in 2024, with an eighth-place finish in Canada his highest finish of the season. He would end his time at VCARB in 18th place in Singapore after a disappointing season, with Liam Lawson – who has now joined Red Bull – taking his place.
Despite this, Mekies broke his silence to claim it was not solely Ricciardo’s fault, and took responsibility on behalf of the team.
Daniel Ricciardo (centre) was sacked by VCARB earlier this year after a disappointing run of form
VCARB team boss Laurent Mekies said his team has taken collective responsibility after Ricciardo’s dismissal
The team boss admitted that his team had struggled to keep Ricciardo (photo) ‘enough in the right place’
“The question we were asked most was, ‘Can Daniel still produce the ultimate speed we’ve ever seen?’ I think he’s done that a few times, in Miami, in Canada (fifth in qualifying) and in quite a few other races,” Mekies said. Motorsport.
‘So he did produce that ultimate speed that has taken him to race victories in the past.
‘But for the team, as for the drivers, the biggest difficulty is not being fast one day. In every race you have to be fast.
‘Have we managed to keep Daniel in that sweet spot often enough? No, that’s the reality.
“I raised my hand and we raised our hands as a team because we play a big role in that. And this led to what happened.”
Although Ricciardo’s final season with the Formula 1 team did not go as he had hoped, it appears that his experience and knowledge of the sport has helped the team move forward in the development of their car.
“But Daniel certainly pushed us to explore those limits, and it gave the technical team a very good background of what the car could and couldn’t do,” he added.
‘There was a huge benefit for the team and for Yuki in terms of Daniel’s technical feedback, development direction and race-winning approach.’
Although Ricciardo’s final season with the Formula 1 team did not go as he had hoped, it appears that his experience has helped the team make progress in the development of their car.
Helmut Marko (pictured) had previously stated that the Australian driver had lost his lead and that Red Bull had given him ‘a second chance that no one else would’
Yuki Tsunoda (left) spoke highly of his former teammate, calling him the ‘driver I learn the most from’
Based on Ricciardo’s experience, where the driver has driven on the most important circuit for 13 years. During that time he would win eight races and achieve 32 podium finishes, having competed in 253 races driving with Torro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren and VCARB.
He also added that Yuki Tsunoda had been able to build a great relationship with Ricciardo, adding that the Australian had been a mentor to the young driver.
“We spoke after the race in Singapore, we said thank you and appreciated each other and I was a bit emotional, to be honest,” said Tsunoda, speaking about Ricciardo’s departure from the team.
“He has been a very good teammate and I think I learn the most from all the drivers.
“I’ve seen some of his social media posts and it looks like he’s enjoying his time off a bit.”