Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap sure felt like a goodbye

On the 60th lap of this weekend’s Singapore GP, Daniel Ricciardo did something he hasn’t done in a long time: set the fastest lap of a race. It was the 17th of his career, but his first since 2021, back when he was racing alongside Lando Norris with McLaren. Coincidentally, Ricciardo stole the fastest-lap honor from race-winner Norris this time out, despite no chance at scoring the singular point it offers or changing the race outcome for himself or RB.

As McLaren principal Stella gently insinuated after the race in calling Ricciardo’s literally point-less lap “peculiar,” a conspiracy-minded F1 fan might see some Red Bull machinations at play in the decision to set the Aussie driver loose. But when Ricciardo stopped into pit lane with only three laps remaining, languishing in 18th place, and swapped on a set of softs, the moment also read like a sendoff for a complicated, beloved driver.

Rumors about Daniel Ricciardo’s imminent demise — at RB, and as a driver in Formula 1 — reached a fever pitch in advance of the Singapore GP. It’s assumed that at some point, possibly imminently, Liam Lawson will be named as his replacement. Quantifying why the team would make a move doesn’t require a math degree: the gap between Ricciardo’s qualifying pace and lap times compared to his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s seems clear enough.

Other margins — of expectations between driver, team, and fans — are much harder to calculate for eight-time Grand Prix winner Ricciardo. His career arc thus far has spanned the gamut: phenom to title contender; frustrated star to outcast to comeback hopeful. He was the face of Formula 1’s “Drive to Survive” era and global explosion. In his prime, Ricciardo fought for race wins and delivered indelible moments while gamely acting as a vulnerable, smiling, shoey-slurping face of the sport as it surged into a broader cultural awareness. He’s also pinned his last two years on a return to form with RB that hasn’t materialized.

And yet, for about four and a half minutes on Sunday in Singapore, Ricciardo took back the spotlight. On lap 60 he picked up a set of softs and ripped off a time that will sit in a history book somewhere, listed under Norris’ third-ever grand prix win. Ricciardo’s lap, at 1’34.486, was nearly a half-second faster than the then-standing fastest lap set by Norris. It’s an apples to oranges comparison, certainly, given Norris never touched softs — nor did second-place finisher Max Verstappen, whose fastest was nearly 1.5 seconds slower than Ricciardo’s. But Ricciardo’s certainly carried its own weight.

After the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo answered the media with a solemn tone.

“I’m obviously prepared for it,” Ricciardo told reporters who asked if he was being dropped by RB before the United States Grand Prix. 

“I put my best foot forward. Let’s say maybe the fairytale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on what’s been 13 or so years and I’m proud,” he said to Sky Sports F1. 

In the official post-race recap sent to media, even RB Team Principal Laurent Mekies hinted at this being the checkered flag for Ricciardo: “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.”

Wherever your fandom lies, it’s hard not to see Ricciardo’s scoring the fastest lap of a race — on a day where his midfield-at-best RB looked like a handful to drive — as a doff of the cap from the former Driver’s World Championship contender. He took home one more accolade, and left his mark on the race in rubber.