Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula One career hangs by a thread after he admitted that the disappointing Singapore Grand Prix could have been his last race.

It was already looking increasingly likely that Ricciardo would lose his RB seat for 2025 to Liam Lawson, and he went into the Singapore race with the understanding that the four-week break between this race and the next in Austin would tell him whether he would even have a seat next year.

But this weekend speculation grew that he could be dropped from the team even before the end of 2024, and Ricciardo’s behaviour seemed increasingly discouraged as things also went poorly for him on the track.

Ricciardo appeared visibly emotional after a difficult race in which he spent at the back of the field and ended it with a consolation run for the fastest lap, with which he also took a point from the experienced Red Bull team ahead of his championship rival Lando Norris.

He said the physically demanding nature of the race contributed to him feeling “a flood of emotions and feelings,” but also acknowledged: “I’m aware that could be it.”

“The cockpit is something that … I have become very used to over many years,” said Ricciardo.

“I just wanted to enjoy the moment.”

Beyond the words, there were long pauses, slight breaks in his voice and a hint of tears in his eyes, all of which showed how vulnerable Ricciardo felt on Sunday evening.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is keen to get Lawson in the car as early as possible, but there is no consensus among the public as to whether Red Bull will definitely drop Ricciardo now.

However, senior figures have chosen not to take several opportunities to put an end to the speculation this weekend. Ricciardo’s body language and his words after the race suggested that something had changed during the weekend, leading him to believe that it was not only possible, but likely, that he would not race again this season.

When asked if he would drive in the next race, Ricciardo said: “Of course there is a realistic chance that it will not happen.”

“At Red Bull, it’s been a very different situation for all of us in some ways from race to race. Sometimes it feels like it’s going one way, then the other.

“A lot of emphasis was placed on this weekend and I would have liked a better weekend.”

It is unclear whether this attitude is due to a direct message from Red Bull or whether Ricciardo simply picked up on all the speculation and no one at Red Bull or RB in Singapore made much effort to curb the speculation.

But Ricciardo’s situation is more precarious than ever. He said he was “prepared” for this to be his last race and even hinted that he would appreciate the Driver of the Day award as a possible farewell gesture or recognition of his career.

“Normally the Driver of the Day award might not be that important to us drivers, but today I can say that I appreciate it,” he said.

“This means something today.”

Ricciardo was brought in as Red Bull’s third driver for 2023 after being paid to sit on the sidelines and step in as a replacement should Sergio Perez continue to struggle following two increasingly tough years at McLaren.

But even though Perez was close to being voted out, Ricciardo was unable to make a convincing enough case for his promotion to Red Bull’s management.

With this in mind, replacing Ricciardo in favour of Lawson for the rest of the season seems to be less about Ricciardo’s own performance and more about supporting the RB team – which is usually the reason for such changes during the season.

The unusual gap in the schedule is a good time for the change, as Lawson has a full month to prepare before getting in the car on a race weekend. And if he’s going to race next year anyway, Red Bull might find a step-up worthwhile.

However, Red Bull Racing also needs to keep an eye on the bigger picture, as Red Bull also sees this as an opportunity to evaluate Lawson for more than just an RB seat in 2025 – for example as a replacement for Perez at Red Bull Racing.

That would explain why Red Bull has talked about needing answers to the question of how good Lawson is, even though he has already proven with his performances last year that he is worthy of being a RB driver.

If Lawson replaces Ricciardo for the rest of 2024 and performs well enough to move up to Red Bull Racing in 2025 if Perez continues to underperform, it could give Ricciardo some breathing room.

He will likely stay with Red Bull as a contract driver for the rest of 2024 and Red Bull also has an option on him for next year, so he could return to the second team alongside Tsunoda in 2025 if needed.

But even if this unlikely scenario does come to pass, Ricciardo probably still doesn’t want to take the risk, as he himself has spoken about the point of a second F1 career without a future at Red Bull Racing.

“I tried to sort out a few things with myself (this weekend) and also to understand why I came back,” he said.

“Sometimes you see the bigger picture and I’ve always said I don’t want to be the guy who just stands here and fights (for points) every now and then, but that’s kind of how it went this year.

“But this year my goal was to do well enough to get back to Red Bull and fight for wins again to see if I still had it in me. Obviously I didn’t do that. So I thought, ‘What else am I fighting for here? What else is fulfilling?’

“Because I was also a young driver and at some point you don’t just want to take up space. Of course you have to be selfish, but if I’m not able to fight with Red Bull at the front, you have to ask yourself: ‘Why am I staying on the grid?’

“I have made my peace with that too.”

Incidentally, the 2024 Singapore GP is not the first time that Ricciardo has treated an F1 race in this way for the last time.

“I tried to enjoy it, of course, a bit like at the end of 2022 at McLaren. I thought this might be my last race, so I tried to enjoy it,” he added.

“I think I’m a lot happier in the sport now than I was then. So if that’s it, let’s say I have a little more peace and am proud of my career.”

“Of course I tried to become world champion. I tried to be the best in the world at something.

“We are facing a big task and obviously some people manage to do it and others don’t. If in the end I didn’t quite achieve the result I wanted, I can’t be too hard on myself and I’m happy with the performance. I’m not sad or regretful about what could have been.

“I did my best.”