Ricciardo exit BLAME issued by RB boss

VCARB chief Laurent Mekies has, somewhat surprisingly, named who he believes is to blame for Daniel Ricciardo washing out of Formula 1 this year.

The Australian driver joined Red Bull's junior team midway through 2023 to replace the underperforming Nyck de Vries, before suffering the same indignity just over a year later.

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The goal for the Australian was to perform well enough to eventually earn himself a promotion back to Red Bull where had previously partnered Max Verstappen. However, this was not to be.

Instead, Ricciardo underperformed at VCARB and was axed himself, with Liam Lawson — the man eventually promoted to Red Bull in place of Sergio Perez — having been the man to replace him for the final stint of the 2024 campaign.

Mekies issues Ricciardo blame

Despite Ricciardo's shortcomings, however, and the fact that he was eventually axed from the team, VCARB team principal Mekies refuses to put the blame solely on the Aussie.

Instead, the VCARB chief claims that the team did not get Ricciardo in his high-performing sweet spot often enough, shouldering some of the responsibility for his demise.

"The question we have been asked the most was: 'Can Daniel still produce the ultimate speed we have seen?' I think he has on a few occasions, in Miami, in Canada [fifth place in qualifying] and in quite a few other races," Mekies told Autosport.

"So, he did produce that ultimate speed that took him to race wins in the past. But for the team, as for the drivers, the biggest difficulty is not to be fast one day. It's to be fast in every race.

"Did we manage to keep Daniel in that sweet spot often enough? No, that's the reality. I raised my hand and we raised our hands as a team because we have a big part to play in it. And this led to what happened."

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