Daniel Ricciardo shares what he’s ‘guaranteed’ from Max Verstappen after Singapore Grand Prix fastest lap

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The Singapore Grand Prix might well be the last race in Formula 1 for Daniel Ricciardo, having gone out playing an important role in Max Verstappen’s title defence.

Rumours surrounding the future of Ricciardo have been swirling in the F1 paddock all weekend, amid reports that Red Bull was looking at replacing him with reserve driver Liam Lawson for the remaining six races of the season.

Heading into the final races, Daniel Ricciardo knew that it could be the last of his career given it was likely that he would not see his contract renewed for the 2025 season, and with limited spaces left on the grid there is not a lot of opportunities for him.

A clause in Lawson’s contract was set to expire this month, which would have allowed the New Zealander to look elsewhere for a seat outside of Red Bull’s stable.

Given the Singapore GP could be his last race, Ricciardo decided to bow out by helping Verstappen in his title defence by snatching a crucial point away from Lando Norris. Speaking on Sky Sports, he expects a gift in return from Verstappen.

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Daniel Ricciardo hopeful for a ‘nice Christmas present’ from Max Verstappen

After making a mistake and dropping two places while trying to catch teammate Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo pitted on the penultimate lap of the race for a set of soft tyres.

The pit stop enable him to go for the fastest lap of the race, crucially denying Norris the bonus point for fastest lap of the race.

It now means that Verstappen can win the title if he comes second whenever Norris wins, regardless of whether the McLaren driver set the fastest lap of the race. Ricciardo quipped that he hopes Verstappen returns the favour.

“The last few laps I was asked if we should go for the fastest lap and I thought, why not? If Max wins [the championship] by a point, then I just guaranteed myself a nice Christmas present,” said Ricciardo.

Questions raised by rivals over Red Bull’s use of Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull’s use of Ricciardo in their sister team will no doubt reignite discussions over whether teams should be allowed to call on their other teams or partner teams to help them in race.

McLaren’s Zak Brown already highlighted how Red Bull and RB share resources as being a potential issue, given all teams now operate under a budget cap.

RB team CEO Peter Bayer hit back at the criticisms his squad faced from Brown, believing they were seen more as a threat by McLaren.

The events during the Singapore GP could see a change to the rule that only sees the fastest lap being awarded to drivers inside the top ten that set the fastest lap.