Daniel Ricciardo loses his seat in Formula 1 as Red Bull executes mid-season shakeup

Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was dismissed Thursday by the Red Bull Racing junior team effectively immediately, ending his second stint in the sport with an unusual mid-season departure.

It’s unclear what the future holds for the beloved Australian driver, who is an eight-time race winner over 14 years in the sport. Ricciardo has become a celebrity among American F1 fans due to his frequent appearances on Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” series.

Ricciardo, 35, doesn’t have a seat on the F1 grid next season and it’s not clear he will find one at this late stage, as most teams have already finalized their lineups for 2025. His stat sheet in F1 includes three pole positions and 32 podiums.

“I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey,” Ricciardo said a farewell message to his 9.3 million followers on Instagram.

“To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you,” he wrote. “To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you. It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure.”

The Red Bull junior team, Visa Cash App RB, said reserve driver Liam Lawson will take his seat for the last six races of the 2024 season, which include two in the U.S. — one in Austin, Texas, in October, and another in Las Vegas in November.

RB team principal Laurent Mekies thanked the 35-year-old Ricciardo “for his hard work across the last two seasons with us.”

“He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit,” Mekies said in a statement. “Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.”

A Red Bull spokesperson declined to comment to NBC News when asked about the reason for the mid-season swap, and whether the team was on deadline to make a decision about Lawson’s future.

“We don’t discuss driver contracts publicly,” the spokesperson said.

The move comes as the once-dominant Red Bull faces fresh struggles in the 2024 championship, and difficult questions about its future. It has already been overtaken in the constructors’ title standings by McLaren, which has significantly improved its car during the season. And Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen has seen his lead in the driver’s championship reduced by McLaren’s Lando Norris. The RB team is known for auditioning potential candidates to promote to the senior Red Bull team.

Ricciardo began driving for the Red Bull junior team in 2011 before getting promoted to the senior team in 2014. He quickly proved himself as a talented driver with a knack for daring overtakes, as some commentators even dubbed him a future world champion.

But in 2018, amid tension with the up-and-coming Verstappen, Ricciardo made a fateful decision to leave Red Bull. His career hasn’t been the same since, apart from scoring one impressive and unlikely victory with McLaren in 2021. He was axed by the team the following year as he struggled behind the wheel. Ricciardo returned to the Red Bull family in 2023 as a reserve driver and got another chance with the junior team, with some hoping that he would return to form and race alongside Verstappen. It was not to be.

Ricciardo appeared emotional after finishing last weekend’s race in Singapore, with rumors swirling about his possible replacement.

“A lot of emotions because, look, I’m aware it could be it,” he said in a post-race interview, saying he felt “a flood of many emotions and feelings” after crossing the finish line.

Mekies welcomed Lawson, who has impressed leaders of the Red Bull team while occasionally subbing in for one of its drivers.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the Team well,” he said. “He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition. It’s great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.”