Visa RB team boss, Laurent Mekies, expresses regret over the public discussion surrounding Daniel Ricciardo’s situation. During the race weekend in Singapore, it was revealed that a meeting about the future of the 35-year-old Australian would soon take place. There’s a high probability that he will be prematurely replaced by Liam Lawson. Mekies would have preferred to keep this information within the organization.
“It’s not harmful to evaluate your drivers’ performances every few races,” the Frenchman explained. “But I think we’ve sometimes been too open about it – in the first part of the season, and also leading up to the summer break. After that, we even openly admitted that we would have a meeting after Singapore.” Notably, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko and the CEO of Visa RB, Peter Bayer, were the ones who spilled the beans.
“That’s all part of it,” the team boss continued. “But it can also affect the amount of pressure a driver experiences. This was particularly the case with Daniel Ricciardo,” Mekies explained. “He has struggled with this a lot this season. During some races more than others, but he has really had a hard time. Of course, all drivers are top athletes, but we shouldn’t unnecessarily increase the pressure.”
Ricciardo was visibly moved after the GP in Singapore. The Australian was fully aware that he might have driven his last Formula 1 race. “If this was it… I don’t want to make it a sad story, but it’s been good,” he told Viaplay. “There’s a chance you won’t see me in Austin.”
