Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has paid tribute to Daniel Ricciardo amid the Australian’s in-season Formula 1 exit from the Red Bull-owned RB squad.
RB announced on Thursday that Ricciardo would be leaving the team with immediate effect, ending speculation that ramped up during the Singapore Grand Prix.
Ricciardo’s F1 reprisal came mid-way through the 2023 season, having returned to the Red Bull stable last year as its Third Driver.
However, after failing to recapture the form that saw him win seven Grands Prix at Red Bull, RB has elected to replace Ricciardo with Liam Lawson for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
Via a post on his Instagram account, Red Bull Team Principal Horner wrote, “From the moment you arrived at Red Bull, it was was obvious you were so much more than just a driver.
“Your constant enthusiasm, sense of humour and attitude will leave an indelible legacy on the Team here in Milton Keynes and F1 as a whole.
“Thank-you for the wins, smiles, songs (and I wish I could say the shoeys), you will always be a special part of the Red Bull family.
“8 wins, 32 podiums, 1329 points. These statistics and accolades are not the only measure of who you are and what you have achieved.
“Thank-you Daniel.”
READ MORE: RB announces Daniel Ricciardo’s mid-season F1 departure
Ricciardo had his best years at Red Bull with Horner
Ricciardo’s reputation as one of the best drivers in contemporary F1 was forged under Horner’s watchful eye at Red Bull.
As a product of the Red Bull Junior Programme, Ricciardo made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with Hispania.
Those 11 races on loan at Hispania prepared Ricciardo for his subsequent two-year stint at Toro Rosso.
With Mark Webber retiring at the end of 2013, Ricciardo was selected to partner four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel in 2014.
Ricciardo blew Vettel out of the water in 2014 and was the only non-Mercedes driver to win races that season amid the German marque’s dominance.
Nicknamed ‘The Honey Badger,’ Ricciardo saw his win tally rise to seven victories during his time at Red Bull.
However, amid Max Verstappen’s rise to prominence, Ricciardo elected to move to Renault and subsequently McLaren, where his decline started.
With Red Bull’s return to title glory coinciding with Ricciardo’s struggle, the Australian’s career represents one of F1’s biggest what-ifs.
READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo responds to immediate F1 RB exit
