Daniel Ricciardo’s final Formula 1 race weekend could have been handled in a better way, his former RB team has admitted.

The Australian was dropped by RB after the Singapore Grand Prix in favour of Liam Lawson, as the squad wants to evaluate the New Zealander’s potential to see if he could be a candidate for Red Bull in 2025 or 2026.

But although the decision to make the driver switch was made well in advance of Singapore, the development was kept quite secret, with there being no confirmation from the team nor Ricciardo over the Marina Bay weekend that he was definitely leaving F1.

So when it became clear post-race that Ricciardo’s career was over, there was a backlash from fans who suggested that Red Bull had given the eight-time winner a disservice by not allowing him a proper send-off.

However, as Motorsport.com revealed, the reality was that Red Bull representatives had spoken to the Ricciardo camp ahead of the Singapore weekend to see if there was interest in him announcing the news before track action got underway, but it was decided not to go ahead with this plan.

Reflecting now on the events of the Singapore weekend, RB team boss Laurent Mekies says that in hindsight, it may well have been better to have done things differently.

“Yes, it was frustrating, and yes, it was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way,” said Mekies. “That is first of all for him, on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him.”

Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

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Mekies confirmed that talks took place before Singapore about how things should play out in public, but once it was decided to keep things secret then both team and driver had to play along with it.

“Daniel was aware,” he added. “We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose together to go into that weekend without announcing. And from that point onwards, we had to deal with it.

“It’s a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently. But it’s something that we were, both the team and the drivers, on board to go through that now.”

However, although the way the weekend was handled was far from perfect, Mekies still thinks that the message got through to Ricciardo about how much he was loved and respected by fans and those in F1.

“I think in one way or another, we all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel, from the fans to Daniel,” he added.

“I don’t know if it would have been better or worse [to announce it], certainly different, more traditional, but I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend was something outstanding and something that shows that he’s bigger than an F1 driver, he’s bigger than F1.”

ADAM AZIM is putting his undefeated record on the line once again TONIGHT as he takes on British rival Ohara Davies in a mouthwatering lightweight.

Assassin hasn’t looked back since stopping Franck Petitjean in round ten of their 2023 fight to become the new European light-welterweight champion.

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The Slough-born icon won and defended the European title in record timing as Azim went on to beat challenger Enock Poulsen three months later.

But Assassin could be coming up against his toughest challenge yet as he faces a former British and Commonwealth champion with a point to prove.

However, the wind will certainly be in the sails of Azim as Davies goes into this battle fresh from a TKO loss against Ismael Barroso.

Ironically, both men started their boxing journeys in East London’s iconic Peacock Gym with Azim looking up to Davies who is ten years older.

When is Azim vs Davies?

• Adam Azim vs Ohara Davies will take place tonight – Saturday, October 19.
• The undercard is scheduled to start at 7pm BST/2pm ET.
• Main event ring-walks will get underway at around 10pm BST/5pm ET.
• Copperbox Arena is the chosen venue for this huge fight and it can host approximately 7,500 spectators.

What TV channel is Azim vs Davies on and can it be live streamed?

• Adam Azim vs Ohara Davies will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports Box Main Event and Sky Sports Arena.
• Subscription members of NOW TV can also stream the entire action through a compatible mobile or tablet.
• Alternatively, SunSport will have round-by-round coverage on our live blog.

What is the undercard?

• Adam Azim vs. Ohara Davies; Super-lightweight
• Anthony Yarde vs. TBA; Light-heavyweight
• Dan Azeez vs. Lewis Edmonson for British light-heavyweight title
• Michael McKinson vs. Tulani Mbenge for IBO welterweigh title
• Shannon Courtenay vs. Catherine Tacone Ramos; Featherweight

What has been said?

Adam Azim admitted that he respects Ohara Davies whereas Davies is confident that he’ll be handing Azim his first loss.

Azim said: “I can’t wait to get back in the ring and back to what I do best,” said Azim. “It was a great honour to win and defend the European title but now I’m ready for my next challenge.

“I’ve known Ohara Davies for many years. I respect him and what he’s achieved in the sport but when we meet in the ring, he’s just another opponent and another step on my journey to the top.

“He’s a good fighter. I think our styles will make for an exciting fight but there’s only going to be one outcome. I’m ready to make a statement and show everybody that I’m ready for the biggest names in the division.”

Davies said: “I’m excited for this fight. I like Adam Azim. I’ve known him since he was very young and it’s amazing to see his success so far in boxing,

“I followed him in the amateurs, and I’ve always respected him. But he isn’t a kid anymore. He’s grown into a man with massive potential. And that’s why it’s a shame that I have to hand him his first defeat.

“No needle, no hate, I want us to go back to our families happy and healthy after the fight. But this is where it all changes for him. I’m sorry Adam. This is where it ends.”

The PFL Battle of the Giants start time and TV schedule for the Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira event at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday afternoon is below.

The fight card is broken into two different parts and airs on multiple mediums. This post helps explain which fights are airing where and at which times.

The event kicks off with a four-fight preliminary card 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and DAZN, headlined by a bantamweight bout between Raufeon Stots and Marcos Breno.

Raufeon Stots vs. Marcos Breno

Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Dedrek Sanders

Ibragim Ibragimov vs. Nacho Campos

Tariq Ismail vs. Taha Bendaoud

The ESPN+ and DAZN pay-per-view begins at 4 p.m. ET and features three title fights. Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira clash for the PFL Superfight Heavyweight Championship, while Larissa Pacheco and former UFC champion Cris Cyborg clash for the PFL Superfight Featherweight Championship. Johnny Eblen puts his Bellator middleweight belt on the line against Fabian Edwards on the main card as well.

Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Larissa Pacheco vs. Cris Cyborg

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards

Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen

A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes

New Zealand need 107 runs on the final day to beat India in the first Test in Bengaluru.

The Kiwis bowled India out for 462 on day four before bad light stopped play four balls into their chase.

Sarfaraz Khan hit 150 and Rishabh Pant 99 for India as they look to pull off one of the most famous victories in cricket after being dismissed for just 46 in their first innings.

That pair guided India into the lead with just three second-innings wickets down but the hosts lost 7-54 with the second new ball to set New Zealand 107 to win.

Seamers Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke took 3-102 and 3-92 respectively, having shared nine wickets in the first innings.

New Zealand are looking for their first Test win in India since 1988.

Thierry Neuville has explained his two off-track excursions that cost the World Rally Championship title favourite the lead at the Central European Rally. 

The Hyundai driver started Saturday with a 6.4s lead over Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier before two spins on stage 11 dropped him to fourth, behind rivals Ogier, Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans, 33.6s in arrears.

The two errors could impact the WRC title fight with championship leader Neuville needing to outscore Tanak by two points to seal a maiden crown this weekend.

Neuville first’s spin arrived when his i20 N touched the grass, pitching the car into a 360-degree spin. After recovering from that moment, he then ran wide at a left-hander and onto the grass, losing even more time when his car briefly became trapped in a ditch.   

The Belgian admitted conditions were much trickier than expected as morning fog had made the road much more slippery. 

Neuville wasn’t the only driver caught out, as M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux, Gregoire Munster and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta endured adventures onto the grass.   

“It was two spins I mean the first one was a basic spin and the second one the pacenote was too fast,” Neuville told Motorsport.com.

Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

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“It was a long corner and you don’t see the exit very well because it is uphill and when I entered the corner, it turned more than my pacenotes told me. I tried to save it [the car] and getting out of the ditch we got stuck a little bit and we lost time. 

“Obviously it was going well but there were tricky conditions out there and there were lots of surprises. 

“The first stage was a real surprise I didn’t expect such conditions so it was much more tricky than expected and then we had two little mistakes. We are still here and the rally is not over.”

Neuville admitted that his weekend plan has now changed given the deficit to the lead group. As it stands, he will score 10 Saturday points five fewer than Tanak ahead of Super Sunday, where 12 points are on offer.   

“We can’t catch anybody anymore so now we have to get through the afternoon secure some points and look forward to tomorrow,” he added. 

New rally leader Ogier was among the few to avoid an off-road excursion across the morning’s three stages, although the eight-time world champion admitted the conditions were difficult to judge.

“It has been a challenging morning. We also had a little moment,” said Ogier.

“It surprisingly started very dry with quite good grip and, of course, you attack and have confidence and then you approach the sections where there is a bit more humidity and it was easy to make mistakes. 

“I think many drivers went off the road and into the field. We are happy we managed ok and could get back in the lead.”