What Red Bull were planning to do in Singapore that meant they had no say in Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap

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There was controversy at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix when Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap of the race, denying Lando Norris an important bonus point in his title battle with Max Verstappen.

Daniel Ricciardo was running outside of the top ten and made a mistake that dropped him further down the order, leading Visa CashApp RB to pit him for a third stop for a set of soft tyres and attempt the fastest lap on the final tour of the circuit.

Norris had already set the quickest lap earlier in the race and was on course to receive 26 points, denting Verstappen’s championship lead by a further eight points.

The successful attempt by Ricciardo denied Norris maximum points when he posted a 1:34.486s, which was four-tenths quicker than the Briton’s fastest set 12 laps prior.

Suspicions were raised over whether the senior team told RB to pit Ricciardo in a bid to take away points from Norris. But a report by Autosport that details what ‘sources’ within Red Bull were thinking in the final laps proves that the team did not influence Ricciardo.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Why Red Bull had no say in Daniel Ricciardo fastest lap

According to the report, Mekies denied any conversation between the two teams over a tactical fastest lap attempt.

The claim was backed up by sources within Red Bull who claimed there were radio conversations on the Red Bull pit wall debating about whether to pit Sergio Perez from 10th place. It was later agreed to abort the move because Ricciardo had stopped in the meantime.

Speaking after the race, Mekies added that there were no discussions over setting the fastest lap in their pre-race strategy meetings.

“You always hope that you will have a well-timed safety car and you will be back in contention, otherwise you don’t go racing. So that’s why we started on the soft,” said Mekies.

“This was not something that you plan at the beginning of the race. It’s just after how tough a race it was, and how meaningless it had become for him to fight at the back like that, we just felt it was the right thing.”

Mekies would later say in the official RB press release that the fastest lap was a send-off for Ricciardo, in what could be his final race in F1 before Red Bull replaces him with Liam Lawson.

Daniel Ricciardo expecting Christmas present from Max Verstappen

While Norris did not get the extra point for the fastest lap, neither did Ricciardo as the rules state a driver must be within the top 10 to be awarded the extra point.

Ricciardo quipped after the Singapore GP that he was hopeful for a Christmas present from Verstappen if wins the title, given his role in helping him out on track.

In a championship battle that could go down to the wire due to Verstappen’s current struggles leading to several points dropped to Norris in the last seven races, both teams will be maximising their chances.

Ricciardo snatching the fastest lap means Verstappen can still finish second to Norris at all six of the remaining races and win the title, regardless of whether the Briton achieves the bonus point.

The 52-point gap between the pair heading into the final six races of the season means that if Norris wins the next five races and Verstappen finishes second, the two will be level on points at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.