Reports have claimed that Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 exit could cost Red Bull part of their $35m deal, which the Australian’s contacts helped to facilitate.
The 35-year-old was axed from the Visa Cash App RB team following the Singapore GP, and has since been replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season.
Ricciardo’s F1 performances severely declined since he joined McLaren in 2021, with the Aussie unable to recover his previous form this season, and was eclipsed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese star delivered consistent points finishes for RB, whilst Ricciardo failed to get out of Q1 on multiple occasions, his performance in Singapore signalling the end of his career.
Daniel Ricciardo has been axed from F1
Christian Horner hopes Daniel Ricciardo will remain in the Red Bull family
What will Daniel Ricciardo do after F1?
Whilst an F1 return seems unlikely for Ricciardo, Red Bull bosses Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have revealed their hopes that he will take on an ambassadorial role within the team.
The Australian is beloved by F1 audiences for his sense of humour and paddock antics throughout the years, including debuting the ‘shoey’ as a form of podium celebration.
Despite being axed from the F1 grid Ricciardo, Circuit of The Americas chairman Bobby Epstein is hopeful he will attend the US Grand Prix next week, where Ricciardo memorably arrived on via horseback in 2022.
The circuit’s desire to see Ricciardo at the race shows that the Aussie still holds tremendous marketing appeal, and according to ESPN he brought in $35 million a year from his title partnership with Visa and CashApp.
They added that Ricciardo’s presence at RB helped increase this amount ‘a testimony to the marketing clout of the man still considered to be the face of Netflix’s hit documentary series Drive to Survive.
Without Ricciardo, RB’s commercial value could drop due to his popularity attracting sponsorship and merchandise sales.
However, if he does continue on in an ambassadorial role for RB or Red Bull their revenue could receive a boost, and the financial implications of his exit could be mitigated.