Daniel Ricciardo's F1 exit: Inside 2am meeting and call taken out of Red Bull's hands

Peter Bayer has lifted the lid connected Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull exit, with the Australian axed by the Visa Cash App RB squad pursuing the Singapore Grand Prix backmost successful September

RB CEO Peter Mayer has lifted the lid connected Daniel Ricciardo's abrupt exit, with the 35-year-old replaced during the ongoing play by reserve operator Liam Lawson.

There had been plentifulness of speculation implicit Ricciardo's aboriginal up of the Singapore Grand Prix and his axing was confirmed aft the race, with fans captious of the mode Red Bull handled the situation.

Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) squad main Laurent Mekies adjacent dmitted they should person handled things differently, stating astatine the United States Grand Prix : "We are not blessed with yet however we handled it, and of people we are precise conscious that we could, and we should, person done a amended occupation astatine that.

"Now, Daniel and us, we were talking connected a precise regular basis, and past we went into that play knowing some of america what the concern was. For a fig of reasons we decided to spell into [Singapore] trying to support it [not] nationalist and it proved very, precise rapidly successful the play that unluckily it was not the close decision.

"Certainly we would bash things otherwise if we had to bash it again. Now, I'd similar to deliberation that from what we saw successful Singapore, from the absorption of the fans, from the absorption of the paddock, it was unbelievable however successful 1 mode oregon another, each these streams of love, each these streams of enactment did get nonetheless, adjacent if it was not official, adjacent if it was not the astir classical send-off."

However, Bayer has present insisted the squad had made an statement with Ricciardo not to denote his departure up of the race. "We had agreed with Daniel that we would not pass it," Bayer told Auto Motor und Sport.

"We knew that we would look a spot outdated arsenic a team. But we besides did it to support the driver. It was his wish. He believed close to the extremity that helium would decorativeness astatine the beforehand successful qualifying and amusement everyone.

"I've ne'er seen specified intelligence spot successful an athlete. And I've been successful a batch of sports." However, things did not play retired that mode for Ricciardo, who was eliminated successful Q1 and ended up finishing 18th successful the race.

His struggles successful qualifying led to a 2am gathering betwixt Bayer and Ricciardo, with the Australian insisting helium wanted to contention and that helium "didn't privation immoderate nonsense" by announcing his exit up of time.

"It was a unspeakable infinitesimal erstwhile helium exited successful Q1," Bayer added. "You could already perceive connected the vigor that his world had collapsed. We past spoke to him again connected Saturday. We sat unneurotic successful our bureau astatine 2 o’clock successful the greeting and asked him what we should bash now.

"He past told america that we should conscionable fto him thrust the race. He conscionable didn't privation immoderate nonsense. As a team, we enactment ourselves successful beforehand of him. If Daniel had driven each the mode to Abu Dhabi, past of people we would person celebrated his farewell with fireworks and a photograph connected the grid, conscionable similar [Kimi] Räikkönen backmost then.

"That's what everyone would person wanted. We gave him different accidental that cipher thought possible. It was important for america that astatine the extremity of the time we could look successful the reflector and accidental that we did it right. Even if the full satellite and his 9 cardinal Instagram fans were bashing us."

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