Ted Kravitz launches Daniel Ricciardo ‘deserves more’ Red Bull ‘rant’ as axe threat looms

Ted Kravitz has let rip over Red Bull’s handling of the Daniel Ricciardo race seat situation as he’s “not being treated in a straight way”.

Ricciardo has spent the past few months with a sword hanging over his head, Red Bull making it clear that they are undecided on their driver line-up and that anything could happen.

Red Bull told ‘be straight with Daniel Ricciardo, he deserves that’

Ricciardo arrived at the Marina Bay circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix under a cloud of speculation with the latest rumours claiming he will be dropped after this weekend’s race to make space for reserve driver Liam Lawson.

He will, however, remain a part of the Red Bull family and could be back in the car for the final race of the championship in Abu Dhabi.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was asked to address the speculation on Saturday and refused to say yes or no.

Instead, he replied: “These things are under constant review, and there is obviously a much bigger picture than just Daniel as we continue to look at all of our options, as we move forward.”

And with a three-week break between Singapore and Austin, he went on to say that it is “only natural” for Red Bull to “take stock and consider all of those options for the final part of the year”.

Kravitz was not at all impressed with the team principal’s cryptic answer, especially if that’s the tone they’re using with Ricciardo.

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“Okay, so the sad case really is Daniel Ricciardo, who looks like we are saying goodbye to in Formula One,” said the Sky pit lane reporter.

“But no one’s giving Danny Ricciardo a straight answer whether he should be celebrating and commemorating because this might be his last qualifying in F1 ever, and it might be his last race in F1 ever.

“He’s not being treated in a straight way, he might reflect at the moment. Because is it his last race? Maybe if he finishes on the podium, maybe it’s not.

“Christian Horner talking about it’s natural that you assess your driver options. Is it? Difficult decisions have to be made. Do they?

“I mean if you are going to dump him, just tell him. Just be so… maybe they have told him, but maybe he can’t be straight with the rest of us, but it looks like he’s in this sort of limbo.

“And if he does know, Daniel, then I hope he enjoys his weekend. If he does know and he can’t tell us, then I hope he enjoys his weekend. If it turns out to be his last.

“But they can’t keep him on the end of a string. ‘Oh, you know, maybe we’ll get you back to the last race’. Will they, having given a few races to Liam Lawson? Okay, but be straight with him.

“It’s never the impact is it? It’s the way people communicate things. You know, your train is late or your flight is cancelled, it’s never the fact that these things happen, you know these things happen.

“Daniel might say, ‘alright, maybe I’m not as quick as I was, you’re going to get rid of me. I know you’re going to get rid of me – that’s Formula One, it’s the way you communicate it’. Always. In Formula 1, just as if your train is late.”

He added: “Red Bull, be straight with Daniel, he deserves that.”

The Briton also highlighted the Honey Badger’s contribution to Formula 1’s popularity as another reason he should be treated with respect.

“Think about how much he’s done here,” Kravitz said. “Okay, you can argue all you want about whether he’s as quick as he was anymore. You can argue all about that.

“But just think about this. Think about F1 popularity. Think about popularity in the US. Think about Drive to Survive. How much of that is down to Daniel Ricciardo? I’d argue a fair bit.

“And that’s Daniel putting himself out there being happy, being the character he is, and improving the popularity of Formula One.”

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