Daniel Ricciardo blasted over 'F1 career-defining moment'

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has claimed the downfall of Daniel Ricciardo's career can be traced back to one huge mistake made by the Aussie racer.

The 36-year-old was dropped by Red Bull's junior F1 outfit Racing Bulls after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, with the team deciding they could not afford to have the fan-favourite racer taking up the seat without scoring points for the remainder of the campaign.

Instead, he was replaced by Liam Lawson, and not for the first time either.

Lawson's history as a moving part in Red Bull's driver carousel dates back to 2023, when he was called in to replace an injured Ricciardo after he broke his hand during FP2 at the Dutch GP.

Ricciardo was ruled out of the session early on in Zandvoort having followed Oscar Piastri into the wall at Turn 3, with zoomed in replays later showing that he had kept his hand attached to the steering wheel upon impact.

As a result, the AlphaTauri driver broke a metacarpal on his left hand, with Lawson called up to instantly take Ricciardo's place with the junior squad for the remainder of not just that weekend, but the following four rounds of the campaign as well.

Now, speaking on the MontoyAS Podcast ex-Williams star Montoya has highlighted Ricciardo's injury as being preventable.

"It's always better to let go of your hands... take your hands off the wheel because it's going to hit you and hurt you a lot. That's not what happened to Ricciardo, which is why he got injured," the seven time grands prix winner declared.

F1 injury marked beginning of the end for Ricciardo

The Colombian racer then continued with his harsh assessment of Ricciardo's error, claiming his injury kick-started Lawson's F1 career, opening doors for him that have kept him in the sport beyond the Aussie star.

"Look, it's the truth. Think about it, something that silly defined Ricciardo's career and opened the door for him not to break his hand, not to get on the bandwagon, and in the end, replacing Ricciardo worked out well for him [Lawson].

"It worked out very well for him. That's why he got the job," the 49-year-old concluded.

In his previous role as F1 reserve driver, Lawson was required to step in for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri should either squad find themselves in need of an urgent driver replacement.

As a result, the Kiwi star was primed and ready to deputize for Ricciardo when he sustained his injury, but naturally, it also meant he had already proved his capabilities at the wheel of the trickiest machinery in the sport.

Even after he returned from recovery, Lawson had done enough to keep the pressure on Ricciardo to perform when he returned at the US GP later in 2023, with Red Bull's junior squad calling upon the rookie once again a year later when they felt Ricciardo's time in the sport was up.

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