VCARB chaos? What's happening with Red Bull’s second F1 team

That was the case in 2023 when Nyck De Vries was removed and veteran Daniel Ricciardo was given the seat. However, just over a year later, Danny is without a seat, and Liam Lawson is there to step up.

It is hard to find a driver as beloved as Danny Ric. He was such an iconic driver in Formula 1 as he was one of the quickest drivers in his prime during his Red Bull days, a favourite among stake bettors, but he was also one of the paddock’s best personalities.

He was always seen with a smile on his face, as he radiated positivity to the rest of the paddock. Ricciardo was also a massive figure in the Drive to Survive documentary series by Netflix, which has helped F1 grow into an even bigger sport. He was one of the building blocks of that show alongside former Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner.

While he bounced around the paddock with Renault and then McLaren before returning to the Red Bull fold, he was still a prominent figure. Unfortunately, his awkward exit from McLaren left him with limited options, so a return to Red Bull as a reserve driver was a good decision since he had a pathway back to the senior team.

Ahead of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, there were murmurings of Ricciardo getting dropped for Lawson. There was no official announcement, so everyone was stepping on eggshells in bidding farewell to a legend of the sport, an exit he did not deserve.

Unfortunately for the Honey Badger, the team stuck with Sergio Perez at Red Bull, so Danny was relegated to the junior team. He still had a path back to the senior team, but Red Bull Racing’s commitment to Perez won out alongside Lawson’s ascent when Ricciardo was injured.

The Mexican secured the senior seat, while the Kiwi was selected for VCARB, leaving Danny out. Lawson is a decent driver, but he must prove his mettle to Red Bull in the last few races of the 2024 season.

VCARB and the Red Bull brass have come under fire for what happened with Ricciardo because he was such a beloved and important driver.

Going out like that was a bitter pill to swallow for many people since Danny was performing well ahead of Singapore, but they could have given him a proper farewell rather than making it awkward for everyone involved.

It will be interesting to see how Lawson fares in the VCARB car alongside Yuki Tsunoda, as that will have a long-term effect on Red Bull Racing once again. The stake casino markets will be fun to watch because of Lawson, but the rest of the paddock will naturally compare him to Danny, so the Red Bull circus will keep travelling worldwide.