Ricciardo F1 exit 'awkward' for all parties involved

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok has stated Daniel Ricciardo's exit from the sport felt “awkward” for all parties involved.

Ricciardo departed the RB team after the Singapore Grand Prix in September, with confirmation coming in the days after the race.

During the weekend, it was heavily speculated that Ricciardo would be leaving the team amid a period of underperformance.

A number of fans were left unhappy with how the exit was handled by Red Bull as the Australian had no traditional send off reserved for veteran drivers.

Reflecting on the situation to Sky Sports, Chandhok said: “It all just felt a bit strange. 

“I can only assume there were some contractual reasons why that played out the way it [did]. 

“I felt for him during that Singapore weekend. It seemed like from Thursday, he knew he was out after Singapore, he knew that was his last weekend. 

“But he had to go through this whole weekend of this charade of saying ‘I don’t know, we’ll see what happens’. 

“It felt awkward for him, it felt awkward for the people watching.”

Liam Lawson was called up to replace the eight-time grand prix winner, also leaving the New Zealander in a difficult position, according to Chandhok.

“I feel for Liam as well because he’s coming into replace arguably one of the most popular F1 has had in the last decade who hasn’t had a chance to do a proper send-off,” he said. 

“It just felt a bit off for everyone involved.”