VCARB express 'frustration' with Ricciardo announcement
F1 News
While a visibly emotional Daniel Ricciardo had to give interviews after the Singapore Grand Prix, it was all but confirmed that the Australian driver will be replaced at Visa Cash App RB. The official announcement came only on the Thursday after. While Max Verstappen has also criticised his team because of the way they handled the aforementioned situation, VCARB team principal Laurent Mekies underlined it was not perfect for him either.
"It was frustrating. And yes, you're right, it was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way, first of all, for him on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him," Laurent Mekies began to comment on the way the announcement was made in September.
'Ricciardo was on board'
"Daniel was aware. We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose, together, to go into that weekend without announcing. And from that point onwards, we had to deal with it. It's a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently, but it's something that both team and driver were on board to go through that," the VCARB team principal gave his explanation.
"I think in a way or another, we all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel, from the fans to Daniel, so I don't know if it would have been better or worse, certainly different, more traditional."
"I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend was something outstanding and something that shows that he's bigger than an F1 driver, he's bigger than F1," the Frenchman concluded.
At his first free practice session since he became VCARB's full-time driver, Liam Lawson finished in P13 at the Circuit of the Americas.
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