Max Verstappen said after the Singapore Grand Prix that his punishment for swearing in a news conference could speed up his exit from Formula One.
Verstappen, who finished second behind title rival Lando Norris on Sunday, has often said that he is not motivated by having a long career in the competition.
The Dutchman has now gone seven Grand Prix without a pole position and seven without a victory, but did halt his two-race podium drought this time around.
But Verstappen's weekend was dominated by his actions off the track rather than on it, saying the controversy could make his departure from the sport a lot quicker.
"These kinds of things definitely decide my future as well, when you can’t be yourself or you have to deal with these kinds of silly things," Verstappen said.
"Now I am at the stage of my career where you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring.
"For me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure."
On Friday in Singapore, Verstappen was ordered by race stewards to "accomplish some work of public interest" swearing while describing his car’s performance in Baku while speaking in the official pre-event news conference on Thursday.
He staged a protest against the decision by giving short answers in the official post-qualifying news conference.
Verstappen called the penalty "ridiculous" and was backed by Norris and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
"If you can’t really be yourself to the fullest, then it’s better not to speak," Verstappen said.
"But that’s what no one wants because then you become a robot and that’s not how you should be going about it in the sport.
"You should be able to show emotions in a way. That’s what racing is about. Any sport.
"Anyone on the pitch, if they get tackled, or get pushed, or they are not happy with something or there is a frustrating moment, or something they get asked about, it’s quite normal there can be a sort of reaction."
There was also an emotional moment for Verstappen's former Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, with the Singapore Grand Prix potentially his final race in F1.
Rumours had swirled in the build up to this weekend's race that the eight-time Grand Prix winner would be replaced at RB by Liam Lawson for the final six races of the season.
The Australian recorded the fastest lap and was voted the driver of the day, but Ricciardo gave his clearest indication that this weekend may be the end of his career in the sport.
Referring to his fastest lap attempt, Ricciardo said: “It was maybe just to have one last crack at doing a fast one, if it is to be it.”
Pushed on whether that meant Singapore may have been his last Grand Prix, Ricciardo replied: “Possibly, I have to acknowledge that.
"It’s been a little bit of a race-by-race situation and I would have obviously loved the weekend to have gone better. It didn’t, so I have to prepared for this maybe being it.
"I do feel, let’s say, at peace with it.
“At some point, it’ll come for all of us… I think also, I tried to get back into Red Bull, it didn’t work out, so then I also have to say, ‘Okay, what else am I ultimately doing here and trying to achieve?’
"Let’s say maybe the fairytale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on what it’s been. Fourteen or so years and I’m proud.
“I think when you’ve experienced the highs of winning, you can only fight for P10 for so long."
Ricciardo was spotted taking his time getting out of the cockpit, the Australian appearing to savour the final moments with the car after a gruelling 62-lap race.
Across his 13-year career, Ricciardo has won eight times, with his latest win coming for McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix back in 2021.
But as he crossed the line for potentially the final time, the Australian struggled to hold back the tears.
“A lot of emotions, because – look I’m aware it could be it, and I think it’s also just [being] exhausted after the race," Ricciardo concluded.
"So it’s like a flood of many emotions and feelings and exhaustion.
“The cockpit is something that I got very used to for many years,” added the veteran of 257 Grand Prix starts, tearing up. “I just wanted to savour the moment.”
Ricciardo to leave RB with Lawson named as replacement
Daniel Ricciardo will leave RB with Liam Lawson replacing him for the remainder of the Formula One season.
Speculation surrounding Ricciardo's future has been confirmed as the Australian's second F1 stint was brought to an end after he lost his seat at RB.
Ricciardo is 14th in the drivers' championship standings, while he recorded the fastest lap during last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix - the 258th and final race of his F1 career.
The 35-year-old has chalked up eight wins and 32 podiums along the way, notably finishing third in the drivers' championship in 2014 and 2016.
Lawson, who deputised for the injured Ricciardo in five races last season, will step up from his reserve role to partner Yuki Tsunoda for the final six races of the 2024 campaign, starting at next month's United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The 22-year-old recorded an impressive ninth-place finish in Singapore during his short stint, and RB boss Laurent Mekies feels it will be "a natural transition" for him.
"Everyone would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us," Mekies said.
"He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.
"Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track, and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.
"I'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it'll be a natural transition.
"It's great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We're looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together."
Norris: Overhauling Verstappen for F1 championship 'definitely possible'
Lando Norris believes overhauling Max Verstappen to win the Formula One driver's championship is "definitely possible", though he knows McLaren have no room for error.
Norris produced a magnificent performance at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, leading from the front and finishing some 20 seconds clear of Verstappen.
That victory – his third of the year – lifted him to within 52 points of Verstappen at the top of the drivers' standings, while McLaren lead Red Bull by 41 points in the battle for the constructors' crown.
Norris has now won from pole in two of the last four races (Singapore and the Netherlands), becoming the 49th driver to achieve that feat on at least two occasions in F1.
In the last 30 grands prix in which Norris has scored points, he has averaged 15.3 points (460 in total), having only averaged 6.8 across his previous 66 (452 in total).
With Verstappen now winless in eight races, Norris does not see ending his three-year reign as an impossible objective, if McLaren can maintain their pace.
"This is what I've got to do, this is what I need, this is what we need to do as a team," Norris told Sky Sports F1.
"We've executed things perfectly as a team, especially to get Oscar [Piastri] into P3, but we need to do it at every race until the end of the year if I want to have a chance to get Max.
"We're working hard and if I keep doing what I've done this weekend, then it's definitely possible."
Verstappen won 19 of 22 races in the 2023 season – the most dominant campaign ever witnessed in F1 – but Norris hopes he can take this year's title battle to the final race, set for Abu Dhabi on December 8.
"I hope so. I still have a lot of points I've got to catch up and it's not going to be easy to do it," Norris added.
"It's against Red Bull and it's against Max, the most dominant pairing you've ever seen in Formula One, from last year.
"That's not necessarily changed in terms of… It's the same team and it's the same driver. So, I have some of the toughest competition that Formula One has ever seen.
"I'm working my heart out, I'm working my butt off, to try and make sure that happens. He's trying to make sure it doesn't happen. So we'll have to wait and find out."
Red Bull would be 'foolish' not to target Russell, says Horner
Red Bull would be "foolish" not to consider an approach for George Russell when his Mercedes contract expires next year, says team principal Christian Horner.
While three-time world champion Max Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, the poor form of team-mate Sergio Perez has cast doubt on their lineup.
Perez started 2024 with four podium finishes in his first five races, but he has since endured a run of 13 outings without a top-three finish to slip to eighth in the drivers' championship.
Russell is set to become Mercedes' lead driver for 2025 when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, but with the Silver Arrows' team principal Toto Wolff repeatedly talking up the possibility of moving for Verstappen, his long-term future is in doubt.
With Russell's contract expiring after next season, Horner says Red Bull could swoop for him to fill a "gap" between their current drivers and those coming through their academy.
"We've got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future," Horner told Sky Sports F1.
"And we're not afraid to go out of the pool. You know, George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.
"There are other talented drivers that could well be out of contract as well."
Russell claimed his second F1 race win in Austria earlier this year and currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings, 11 points ahead of Perez.
Horner's comments on Russell were put to Mercedes boss Wolff, who accused his counterpart of "stirring".
"He is always stirring s*** up on his part," Wolff said. "It's part of the game.
"George is a Mercedes driver, has been forever and hopefully will be forever. He has a long contract with the team."
The Silver Arrows endured a frustrating outing at last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton finishing fourth and Russell sixth after early difficulties with the team's split strategy.
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