David Croft says Max Verstappen ‘let slip’ Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo plan at Singapore Grand Prix

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Daniel Ricciardo was Max Verstappen’s first teammate when he joined Red Bull back in 2016. Even as they competed for race victories and podiums, the two maintained a close friendship.

Inevitably, there were occasional flashpoints, most notably the crash at the 2018 Azerbaijan GP that took both drivers out of the race. But those tense moments never caused lasting damage to their relationship.

Ricciardo remains the only teammate to beat Verstappen in the championship, having done so in 2017. The Dutchman struck back in 2018, their final year together.

Ricciardo left the team to join Renault, fearing that they were gravitating towards Verstappen. While those concerns were justified, the gamble he took has seemingly backfired.

Renault didn’t meet the Aussie’s expectations, and he left for McLaren after two years. But he lost form and confidence during his time at the Woking outfit, and that cost him his spot on the F1 grid at the end of 2022.

Christian Horner gave him a second chance at the Red Bull junior team last year. But 14 months on, Ricciardo may be facing his last race in Singapore as the team consider whether to drop him in favour of Liam Lawson.

Max Verstappen has already hinted that ‘this is the end’ for Daniel Ricciardo within Red Bull

Verstappen may be aware of Red Bull’s intentions. His bond with Ricciardo remains strong, and the driver line-ups of the two teams are directly linked.

There was a point where it looked as if Ricciardo would replace Sergio Perez. Verstappen came under fire for a social media post with his old teammate after the Belgian GP amid the speculation around Perez.

But now, in the opinion of David Croft, Verstappen has accidentally implied that Ricciardo’s time is up. The 26-year-old appeared in the FIA press conference ahead of the race in Singapore.

Croft thought it was telling that he gave ‘the opinion of a past tense’ when he discussed the future of the eight-time race-winner. He was speaking on Ted’s Podbook on Thursday evening.

“Max basically let it slip that this is the end for now for Daniel Ricciardo, but said he’s got a lot of other things that he can be concentrating on and getting on with,” Croft said. “‘He’s a great guy. He’s had a great career. He’s been fantastic, but he can go off to the farm and find new things to do in his life’.

“Max was talking not in the past tense, but giving the opinion of a past tense when it comes to Danny’s career.”

Ted Kravitz ‘absolutely astonished’ by what Daniel Ricciardo said about his future at the Singapore Grand Prix

Marc Surer can’t believe that Ricciardo is still racing at this point. He expected him to lose his drive during the summer break.

Indeed, speculation of an imminent return for Lawson is nothing new. The New Zealander, who deputised for an injured Ricciardo last year before returning to a reserve role, looked to be on the verge of graduating in the spring and summer.

Those rumours cooled as Ricciardo’s form stabilised. But they’ve now rather suddenly grown more intense than ever.

Croft’s colleague Ted Kravitz is ‘absolutely astonished’ that Ricciardo didn’t deny the Lawson speculation. He thought it was an ‘internet story’ but now says there’s a real chance of a change pre-Austin.