Daniel Ricciardo really needed a very strong weekend in Singapore as speculation mounts that he would be dropped by VCARB (aka Red Bull) after this race, which would make today's Singapore Grand Prix his last as a Formula 1 driver.
But in qualifying on Saturday at Marina Bay, he did himself no favours. Again beaten by teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who made it into Q3 and will line up P8 on the grid, making the most of a handy package this weekend. In contrast, out in Q1 Ricciardo was doomed to P16.
On a circuit of high attrition from such a low point on the grid, Ricciardo will have to pull the kind of 'magic' we haven't seen from him in a long time, especially through a tight midfield, to make an impression.
However, this being Formula 1 and street circuits being street circuits, anything can happen. But will one result this evening in Singapore disguise the fact that Ricciardo hasn't been 'Dan the Man' since the Red Bull days? And no one can find him.
For two years, McLaren tried everything possible to turn his form around. But got pounded relentlessly by Lando Norris, a younger driver with far less experience. It was a lost cause. Eventually, they paid Ricciardo to leave early because they wanted a driver who could step up.
Enter Oscar Piastri, who even as a rookie immediately showed he could push Norris. It's probably McLaren's shrewdest move made by Zak Brown since he took over the helm at Woking. The young, impressive Australian illustrates why the older Aussie had to go.
Then, oddly, a team known for developing young drivers, Red Bull, threw their Prodigal Son a lifeline with a seat at VCARB to replace Nyck de Vries. The pipe dream was to get Ricciardo up to speed to replace struggling Sergio Perez as teammate to Verstappen in the senior team. Why would they now?
Red Bull's prodigal son story has flopped
It was full circle for Ricciardo, back where he began his F1 journey a dozen years ago. But since then, when he should have totally owned a Toyota, he's been beaten by the young, feisty Japanese driver, exposing the fact that the Dan we see today is not the Dan of the past.
Patience has probably run out at Red Bull as they face a future, not only with top guns such as Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley leaving the team. There's also a question mark over Verstappen's future.
If you look at the Red Bull pool of young drivers, if anyone has any promise, it has to be young Liam Lawson, who is more than ready to step, as his five GP appearances last year proved.
Instead, he spends his time on the sidelines watching valuable track time go to waste on what is plain for all to see, the lost cause that is reviving Ricciardo.
Inevitably, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was tapped up for information on Ricciardo's future by reporters in Singapore. This is what Horner had to say in classic Ron Dennis speak of saying so much, and in the end, delivering a word salad that reveals very little: "These things are under constant review."
"There is obviously a much bigger picture other than just Daniel as we continue to look at all of our options as we move forward. There’s a natural break coming, with effectively almost a month’s gap to the next race. It’s only natural that you’ll take stock and consider all of those options for the final part of the year."
The Red Bull team boss continued: "It’s not to the detriment of Daniel. We know how he’s performed. We’ve got a lot of data and a lot of knowledge of where Daniel is. It’s a much bigger picture within the whole driver merry-go-round of what the future looks like.
Horner: During this three-week period of off time we'll consider all options
"Inevitably, we’ll sit down during this three-week period of off time and consider all of those options," added Horner, a fervent backer of Ricciardo's cause who referred to the De Vries hire as a "stop gap" for RBR. As a consequence, the highly-rated Dutchman was dumped after ten GPs as a rookie to fast-track DannyRic.
Horner revealed the drivers they are considering: “We’re having to look further down the road. We’ve got some great talent. We’ve got Liam Lawson on the bench. We’re not quite sure, looking at the likes of [Franco] Colapinto and [Ollie] Bearman and [Kimi] Antonelli, is he at that level? Only time will tell.
“We’ve got Isack Hadjar in F2 who’s been until recently leading that championship. We’ve got a very exciting young talent, that I’m particularly excited about, in F3, Arvid Lindblad. So, we’ve got depth in our junior programme, and that’s why there’s a natural point in time.”
“We’re not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration. There are other drivers, talented drivers, that will be out of contract as well.
“We’ve got a gap now, but we just want to take time to consider, ‘What do those options look like for the future?’ added Horner, who is well aware that his sparring partner, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff openly covets Verstappen,
Ricciardo has not been much better than De Vries
In retrospect, Ricciardo has not been much better than De Vries was despite the 23 races he has had to redeem himself and rediscover the form and style on track that made him one of the most popular drivers in F1. Especially when he burst into the Red Bull senior team in 2014.
A decade on things are very different, Ricciardo is aware that he is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: "I know how it is and how it works, and I knew there was always going to be some dates and deadlines this year, whether it was summer break or now post-Singapore, so post-Singapore is the next one.
"Honestly, it's still, so many things are up in the air. Let's see how the weekend goes. Obviously, I'm going to give it all I can, as I have. There's always something to fight for. We'll see what happens. Try to get the thing on the podium; that's my plan," added Ricciardo.
A reality check is that his future is on the line, and it will be discussed in the offseason by the decision-makers at Red Bull. Only time will tell whether he makes his 257th Grand Prix start or not, or Lawson finally gets the nod.
Big Question: Should Red Bull ditch Daniel Ricciardo after Singapore?
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