Daniel Ricciardo is inarguably one of the most talented drivers on the grid, but unfortunately, luck hasn’t always been on the Australian’s side. After being left behind by McLaren in 2023, Ricciardo attempted to redefine his career by returning to Red Bull, which eventually rewarded him with a place in Red Bull’s junior team, Racing Bulls. Furthermore, considering his strong performances in testing, the odds were fairly stacked against Ricciardo being promoted to Christian Horner’s squad for 2025.
All Red Bull needed from Ricciardo was to beat his fairly inexperienced teammate, Yuki Tsunoda in 2024. But, little did Ricciardo know that beating Tsunoda was going to be nearly impossible. Barely 10 rounds into the season, the young Japanese driver is already 10 points ahead of Ricciardo and is even looking to extend the gap further over the coming race weekends. Meanwhile, Ricciardo’s performances have been on a rapid decline.
🚨 BREAKING: Liam Lawson to join RB in the future, Helmut Marko confirms
“The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now… pic.twitter.com/7IHUFUqZQF
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 26, 2024
Of course, the Australian did show signs of a resurgence at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this month, most likely fueled by Jacques Villeneuve’s brutal comments. The 34-year-old managed to secure an incredible P4 in the sprint race, but that was it. Ricciardo remained silent for the rest of the weekend followed by a nightmare outing in Spain as well. Amidst such a poor showing in 2024, Dr. Helmut Marko has publicly acknowledged that Ricciardo has failed to impress Red Bull Racing.
What’s more, the Austrian is keen on bringing Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls by 2025, which leaves Ricciardo’s future with the Red Bull family in question.
Red Bull shuts the door on Daniel Ricciardo
As reported by Kleine Zeitung, Marko opened up about Red Bull’s plans for Ricciardo. And by the looks of it, Horner and Co. are all set to move on from the eight-time race winner. Here’s the statement by Marko (translated from German):
“The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he would be considered for Red Bull Racing with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Sergio Perez, so that plan is no longer valid. We have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson.”
As of now, out of the four seats in RB and Red Bull, three are taken, leaving Ricciardo’s only seat up for grabs. And going by Marko’s words, the place now belongs to Lawson. Hence, could this be curtains for Ricciardo in Formula 1? Or will Haas or Audi come to the desperate Australian’s rescue? Only time will tell.
Sara Chavan