The Handling Of Daniel Ricciardo's Kinda-Sorta-Maybe Final Race Is A Bad Look For Red Bull

It sure felt like Singapore marked driver Daniel Ricciardo's final race with Visa Cash App RB — and possibly Formula 1 — but still several days after he climbed out of the car, there was no official word from them or Red Bull on whether or not the Aussie will be in the cockpit for the next race at Circuit of the Americas.

And that's strange.

Sure, the writing was pretty much on the wall. Ricciardo spent a little extra time in the cockpit after the race. His emotional interviews and a hero's welcome from the entire team when he returned to their hospitality area. 

Then of course, there was that glory lap to take the extra point for fastest lap from race-winner McLaren's Lando Norris, which appeared to be a bit of a send-off.

The fact that that point could be a major factor in RB's sister team Red Bull and Max Verstappen's hunt for a fourth-straight drivers' championship.

So, given how everyone seemed to be saying their goodbyes, don't you think that would be a good time for RB to formally announce reserve driver Liam Lawson as their new driver?

I would, but that hasn't happened.

It's almost certainly going to be Lawson alongside RB regular Yuki Tsunoda in Austin, especially with reports that part of Lawson's contract required Red Bull to find him a seat by mid-September or they had to put him in one of their cars.

No matter which way Red Bull truly decides to go for the rest of this season and into 2025, there's no question that they bungled this situation. It's not fair to leave Ricciardo hanging like that, especially considering he's a race-winner — all but one of which came with Red Bull — and one of the most popular drivers in the paddock over the last decade.

It's a shame that it looks like the Singapore Grand Prix may have been his swan song, and if it is, it's an even bigger shame that way it's panning out.