Ricciardo wanted low-key final race, RB CEO insists

The CEO of Red Bull-owned RB says Daniel Ricciardo actually asked for the news about his team axe to be delayed until after the Singapore GP weekend was over.

Fans, rival drivers, and even Max Verstappen and RB team boss Laurent Mekies said the way Red Bull did not allow Ricciardo’s final race to be properly celebrated in Singapore was a misstep.

"If he can’t handle it and say it his way, it’s a bit of a shame," said Verstappen.

Mekies agreed, telling a reporter: "Yes, you’re right, it was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way.

"It’s a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently."

Red Bull F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko justified the strategy on the basis of "compelling reasons related to commercial agreements".

But RB CEO Peter Bayer told Sky Deutschland that it was Ricciardo who asked for the lower-profile final race in Singapore.

"From a commercial communication point of view, it could have been organised differently," he admitted in Austin.

"But what is most important for us as a team was that we communicated very transparently and very, very openly and honestly with Daniel," Bayer, who like Ricciardo is Australian, added.

"We spoke to him again on the Wednesday before the race and he said ’No, let’s keep it low key’. We then spoke to him again on Saturday night, at 2am in Singapore, and he said ’No, I just want to race, and those who are important to me know already’.

"As I said, we could have made a big fireworks display about it, but that was not what he wanted."

Some think the affair was a bitter end to the Ricciardo-Red Bull tale, but Bayer insists that he still gets along with the 35-year-old.

"We had him on the phone the day before yesterday," he said. "He’s happy, he’s fine, he’s at peace. He is happy with the way it went."

Bayer even says Ricciardo may re-appear in the Formula 1 paddock before the end of the season.

"We’ll see. Let’s be surprised," he said.

"Right now, he’s focused on himself, his friends, his family, and he’s happy and satisfied. I also think it’s great that the other drivers are reacting in the way they are.

"Daniel has contributed a lot to making this sport what it is today," added Bayer. "And we celebrated him accordingly. But like I said, the Singapore story is what it is."