Axed F1 star Daniel Ricciardo team talks surface in brutal SACK revelation

Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo team talks surface in brutal SACK revelation

Daniel Ricciardo was sacked by VCARB midway through the 2024 season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 12 January 2025 21:56

A brutal verdict on Daniel Ricciardo's Formula 1 axing has been provided, as team talks emerge.

Ricciardo was released from his contract with VCARB back in September, and was replaced by Liam Lawson following a series of poor performances compared to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

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It was the second time in the Australian's career that he had been axed, having been released early from his McLaren contract at the end of the 2022 season and replaced by Oscar Piastri.

A second F1 axing at VCARB has probably led to an end to his career in the sport, stating recently that he was 'done' when asked about rumours linking him to a move to the new Cadillac outfit.

Daniel Ricciardo was axed by VCARB in 2024

Daniel Ricciardo was replaced by Liam Lawson

Why was Ricciardo sacked from F1?

Now, a frank assessment of his final few months in the sport has been offered by VCARB sporting director Alan Permane, who suggested talks to resolve the issues Ricciardo was enduring prior to his sack.

"Honestly no," Permane told Autosport when asked if they knew why Ricciardo struggled so much with the team's 2024 car.

"I don’t know and he doesn’t either. We sat down and talked, tried to figure it out. I was certainly worried that he was overthinking things - he was concerned about the tyres, that they couldn’t cope with the speed he would be asking of them.

"It felt like he was using his huge experience to second-guess things that potentially weren’t correct, because Yuki wasn’t and he was driving as quick as he could and it was working."

Max Verstappen McLaren Daniel Ricciardo Oscar Piastri Sergio Perez Yuki Tsunoda