Daniel Ricc🤪iardo would likely have been replaced in 2025 if he avoided the early F1 axe, David Coulthard insists.

Red Bull arﷺe set to replace Ricciardo with Liam Lawson in th🍎eir sister team, RB, from the next grand prix in Texas.

It mean♓s his 13-year tenure in Formula 1 has likely come to an abrupt end.

“It hasn’t been a stellar comeback✤ for him,” fellow former Red Bull driver Coulthard said on Channel 4.

“This isn’t a show of friends. It💫’s about the stopwatch and the chequered flag.

“It does just feel that, even if he did go until the en💞d of the year, then there would be a change next year.”

Ricciardo initially lost his F1 seat at the end of 2022 when McL﷽aren d🦩itched him, in favour of Oscar Piastri.

He returned midway through 2023 a🐻t AlphaTauri in place of the under-performing Nyck de Vries.

Ricciardo’s progress was dented by a hand injury, when Lawson impressively deputised. But Red Bull kept Ricciardo in their rebranded RB squad this y💜ear.

Ricciardo even hoped some good results wou♒ld lead to a promotion to the main team next to Max Verstappen, a position he once held. It never happened.

'Consolation' of fastest lap

Instead Ricciardo emotionally left the F1 paddock in Sin🧔gapore after scoring the fastest lap bonus point.

“He served a purpose. H𝔍e was outside of💝 the points,” Coulthard said.

“If that was his last lap in anger of a g🌠rand prix car, a set of softs and low fuel, then the honour of the fastest lap has got to be some consolation.”

Ricciardo was reduced to tear☂s after the Singapo🌺re Grand Prix when admitting his time was likely done.

“It has been a really tough watch, the whole weekend,” said reporter Lawrence Barretto whose iღnterview made Ricciarꦯdo emotional.

“He came in with mounting specul♔ation over his futur🍃e.

“He had a great Friday ꦺand everyone thought it would shape up ཧto be a great weekend.

“He had a difficult qualifying and [in the race]... I kn꧅ow he🤡 got the fastest point. But he was so sad, at the end.

“I didn’t mean to make him cry. It gets into the ܫemotion of it all.”