Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 exit is “harsh and brutal”, but Marc Priestley says F1 is “very big business” and “not school sports day” where feelings have to be protected.
After months of speculation and having survived a widely expected summer break cull, VCARB announced after the Singapore Grand Prix that Ricciardo had contested his final race with the junior team.
Daniel Ricciardo was dropped by VCARB after Singapore
Replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson who will line up alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the final six races of the championship starting with the United States Grand Prix, PlanetF1.com understands Ricciardo has been given the chance to stay in the Red Bull driver pool if he so wishes.
That the 35-year-old was not given a proper send-off irked his fans with news of Ricciardo’s exit only coming four days after the Marina Bay race.
It was just another sign of how brutal the world of Formula 1 can be.
But while acknowledging that, former McLaren mechanic Priestley defended VCARB’s decision given Ricciardo’s ongoing struggles to score points with the team holding onto sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship by a mere three points ahead of Haas.
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“It seemed very, very harsh on Daniel. Pretty brutal,” he told his YouTube channel. “And it is a brutal sport.
“The flip side of that was that although it is harsh and brutal and seems incredibly unfair on so many levels, it is also an elite-level sport and very big business. This is not school sports day where we just want to give everyone a chance and keep them happy to look after their feelings.
“Unfortunately Daniel has had quite a number of chances in this sport, he’s been around for a long time and done some amazing things.
“But when the results are consistently not there and RB [VCARB] are in a very tight championship fight where the teams around them, the likes of Williams have clearly taken a step forward, they can’t afford to slip back in that fight because it will cost them a lot of money, prestige, status in the pit lane and all the rest of the things that come.
“This is serious and big business so performance is what matters, not how friendly or smiley your driver is. Harsh as that seems.
“So it is difficult for Daniel, he handled it with a whole bunch of class, and I hope we get to see him in the back in the paddock.”
Priestley believes Formula 1 needs people like Ricciardo in the sport, even if he’s not racing.
“I hope he comes back in some role because the paddock is a better place with him in it,” he continued. “People like that, who light up a room, who bring positivity wherever they are, those are valuable people to have around you.
“I hope he’s not gone forever.”
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