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Daniel Ricciardo’s chances of returning to Red Bull Racing appear slim after team boss Helmut Marko suggested he was no longer fit to represent Formula 1’s most dominant team.
Marko dismissed suggestions that Ricciardo could replace under-pressure Sergio Perez as his own performances have not matched those of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda at sister team RB Formula One Team (formerly AlphaTauri).
“Daniel was put in the car and if he had been significantly faster than Yuki, there was an idea to bring him back to Red Bull Racing,” said Marko. ESPN“But he also had his ups and downs. Until now, he didn’t meet the criteria to be a Red Bull Racing driver.”
The tough seat alongside three-time champion Max Verstappen remains coveted by Ricciardo, who is having a lackluster season with just 12 points on the board, barely half Tsunoda’s tally of 22. His best result of the year so far came in Austria, where the 35-year-old crossed the line ninth after starting 11th on the grid.
Perez has had a strong start to the season with four podiums in the first five races, but his form has dropped off significantly in recent weeks with three seventh places, his best result in the last eight races. Perez won two races and finished second overall in 2023, a result that led Marko to back his man rather than turn to Ricciardo.
“We think we can turn the situation around and make it more stable for him,” Marko said. “Being Max’s teammate is not the most beautiful thing in Formula 1. Checo has his merits, he has won races.
“Our discussion was not just about the drivers, we had regular discussions about what we could do to improve the situation. We have to try to make the car easier to drive.
“The harder the car is to drive, the more the difference with Max is felt, because he has an exceptional talent. If the rear gives way, he doesn’t lift off the accelerator, he just thinks: ‘yeah, it’s a bit nervous’, ‘it’s difficult’ or ‘it’s uncontrollable’,” says Checo.
“So being next to Max is a different story. So we said we’re going to try to make the car easier to drive, get more balance, which Max also wants, and the best thing is to continue with Checo and hope that he… the main problem was these ups and downs.
“He had some really good results, some really good performances, and then the next day he was half a second behind Max or so.”
