Daniel Ricciardo was once tipped as a future Formula 1 champion. His last act in F1 might be playing spoiler in the title race.
The Australian's late rally at the Singapore GP on Sunday snatched the bonus point for fastest lap away from title challenger Lando Norris and helped out Max Verstappen. Ricciardo drives for RB, the sister team of Verstappen's Red Bull, and has previously been a teammate to both Norris and Verstappen.
“If Max wins by a point then I just guaranteed myself a nice Christmas present,” Ricciardo told British broadcaster Sky Sports. Verstappen thanked Ricciardo over the radio to Red Bull.
The lap put the visibly emotional Ricciardo — a popular figure in F1 — in the spotlight ahead of a widely expected decision to replace him with RB's reserve driver Liam Lawson. It generated controversy, too.
Ricciardo finished outside the top 10 so the point isn’t credited to him in the standings, and he finished further back — in 18th place — because he stopped for fresh tires before the lap.
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown objected.
“This once again illustrates that the issue of A/B teams and dual ownership in F1 needs to be addressed as it creates opportunities to manipulate outcomes," Brown told The Associated Press.
"It is precluded in the sporting regulations and we must make sure this type of incident doesn’t happen again in the future, as in Singapore only one team benefited and it wasn’t the team which set the fastest lap.”
RB's team principal Laurent Mekies said the team had simply wanted to give Ricciardo a race to remember.
"Given this may have been Daniel’s last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savor it and go out with the fastest lap," he said in a statement.
RB has yet to officially confirm Ricciardo is leaving, but the driver gave his clearest indication yet that this may have been his last race.
“A lot of emotions because I’m aware it could be it,” he said.
Ricciardo's F1 career looked like it might be over in 2022 when he was soundly beaten by Norris at McLaren. After a stint as a Red Bull reserve, he got another chance last year when RB, then branded AlphaTauri, fired the underperforming Nyck de Vries midseason. It hasn't really worked out, with only four top-10 finishes in 25 races.
“I always said I don’t want to come back just to be on the grid, I want to try and fight back in the front and get back with Red Bull, and obviously it didn’t come to fruition. So then I also have to ask myself the question, ‘Well, then what else can I achieve?’” Ricciardo told Sky Sports.
“Maybe the fairy-tale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on 13 or so years, and I’m proud.”
Even more than for his eight wins, the last of them in 2021, the Australian was famed for his easy-going manner and sense of humor and became a standout face of the “Drive To Survive” Netflix series, which brought F1 to a new audience and sparked a boom in interest in the United States.
Ricciardo's voice was the first heard in the first episode from the 2018 season, which showed him relaxing with his family in Australia and talking of his dream of being a champion.
Ricciardo's fastest lap tipped the title race away from Norris in one very important way. If Verstappen is second in each of the remaining six Grand Prix races and three sprints, he will retain the championship by one point from Norris.
Ricciardo helped out a driver from what's officially a different team, but Norris isn't complaining.
“That’s how it’s been in Formula 1 probably since before I was born, so nothing to complain about,” he said. "It’s the logical thing to do, the smart play by them. Happy for Daniel, that’s all."
AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this report.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
RB driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia poses for a selfie with fans in the paddock at the Baku circuit, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Sept.12, 2024. The Formula One Grand Prix will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
RB driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia during the second practice session of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands and RB driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia talk during the drivers parade ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
RB driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia steers his car during the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Monday called on residents of southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate homes and other buildings where Hezbollah stores weapons and said it was carrying out “extensive strikes” against the militant group.
It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters.
There was no sign of an immediate exodus from the villages of southern Lebanon
The escalating strikes and counterstrikes have raised fears of an all-out war, even as Israel is still battling the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza and trying to return scores of hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group, while Israel says it is committed to returning calm to the border.
Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon reported heavy airstrikes targeting many areas Monday morning, including some far from the border.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strikes hit a forested area in the central province of Byblos, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, for the first time since the exchanges began in October. No injuries were reported there. Israel also bombed targets in the northeastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, where a shepherd was killed and two family members were wounded, according to the news agency. It said a total of 17 people were wounded in the strikes.
An Israeli military official said Israel is focused on aerial operations and has no immediate plans for a ground operation. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said the strikes are aimed at curbing Hezbollah's ability to launch more strikes into Israel.
Lebanese media reported that residents received text messages urging them to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice.
“If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice,” the Arabic message reads, according to Lebanese media.
Lebanon's Information Minister Ziad Makary said in a statement that his office in Beirut had received a recorded message telling people to leave the building.
“This comes in the framework of the psychological war implemented by the enemy,” Makary said, and urged people “not to give the matter more attention than it deserves.”
It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the Israeli orders. Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied out because of the near-daily exchanges of fire.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of transforming entire communities in the south into militant bases, with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure. That could lead it to wage an especially heavy bombing campaign, even if no ground forces move in.
The military said it had targeted more than 150 militant sites early Monday. Residents of different villages in southern Lebanon posted photos on social media of airstrikes and large plumes of smoke. The state-run National News Agency also reported airstrikes on different areas.
An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.
Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Lebanon blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the Oct. 7 attack in what it said was an attempt to pin down Israeli forces to help Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily intensified over the past year.
The fighting has killed hundreds of people in Lebanon, dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. It has also sparked brush fires that have destroyed agriculture and scarred the landscape.
Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah back from the border so its citizens can return to their homes, saying it prefers to do so diplomatically but is willing to use force. Hezbollah has said it will keep up its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but that appears increasingly elusive as the war nears its anniversary.
Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 captives are still held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Israel's offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its count. It says women and children make up a little over half of those killed. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
An armed Israeli fighter jet is seen from Haifa, northern Israel, on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Kfar Rouman village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Khiam village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel calls on Lebanese to leave homes where Hezbollah stores arms as warplanes launch new strikes
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Kfar Rouman village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel calls on Lebanese to leave homes where Hezbollah stores arms as warplanes launch new strikes
