Although the official announcement arrived a few days later, it seemed fairly certain that Daniel Ricciardo was bidding his farewell to the F1 paddock at the Singapore Grand Prix. With six race weekends to go, he is set to be replaced by Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls with immediate effect.
Despite his departure from the Milton Keynes outfit in 2018, Ricciardo maintained strong ties with the Red Bull family. Midway through last year, they handed him a lifeline by bringing him as a replacement for Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s sister team RB (formerly AlphaTauri), following his dismissal from McLaren at the end of the 2022 season due to poor performance.
The Australian scored points on five occasions this season before his departure, including a fantastic fourth-place finish at the Sprint race in Miami. However, his overall performance was less than impressive, and he found himself sitting ten points behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
In a conversation with Tom Clarkson on the F1 Nation Podcast, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner addressed Ricciardo’s exit and the factors that prompted them to take such drastic measures in the middle of a three-week break. When asked why they didn’t let him see out the rest of the season, the Brit responded that they need to assess the bigger picture in terms of what their drivers can bring to the table and added that they intend to measure Lawson’s performance against Tsunoda’s in the remaining six rounds.
“Well, of course, in a perfect world, that would have been what we would have done. But from a broader perspective, we need answers for the bigger picture in terms of drivers. And of course, with six races remaining, it’s a perfect opportunity to line Liam [Lawson] up alongside Yuki [Tsunoda] to see how he performs over the remaining six Grand Prix.”
With regard to the question of whether the bigger picture comprises only V-CARB, Horner clarified that their decision would leave an impression on the entirety of the Red Bull family. While Sergio Pérez is expected to drive alongside Max Verstappen next season, the 50-year-old remarked that they keep an open mind when it comes to evaluating their options beyond 2025.
“No, this goes beyond V-CARB. It encompasses Red Bull Racing. Obviously, we’ve got a contract with Sergio [Pérez] for next year. But you’ve always got to have an eye out in terms of what comes next.”
On the topic of Ricciardo’s second stint in F1 and why he failed to achieve his goal of securing a return to Red Bull, Horner admitted that it was a delicate subject to address. Given the tough time Ricciardo experienced at McLaren, he revealed that they welcomed him back into the fold in order to help him rekindle his fervour for the sport and offer him an opportunity to drive if he lived up to their expectations.
“That’s a tricky one. I didn’t recognise the Daniel [Ricciardo] at the end of his tenure at McLaren. I said to him, ‘why don’t you come and join us, rediscover your passion for the sport. We’ve got a whole bunch of sponsors and partners, and Max [Verstappen] hates doing all that stuff. So you’re going to shake a few hands and turn up to a few events. But if there’s the opportunity to stick you back in the car, you can see if you’ve still got it, if you rediscover your mojo’.”
Referring to the peculiar driving habits that he developed during his McLaren days, Horner revealed that Ricciardo started to get his groove back after he worked with his former engineers at Red Bull. Stating that his impressive performance in Pirelli’s tyre test at Silverstone last year convinced them to offer him a seat at RB in lieu of the struggling De Vries, the Brit added that Ricciardo also served as an alternative if Pérez failed to keep up.
“He picked up some really bad habits when he came back from McLaren, in the car. And bit by bit, working with his old engineering team, he started to find his form again. And then we stuck him in the car for a test at Silverstone, just after the Grand Prix.
“And he knew that was a big test for him, because Nick de Vries had been slightly underwhelming in the AlphaTauri at the time. And of course, we needed a backup solution for Sergio [Pérez] if he weren’t to deliver. So Daniel [Ricciardo] put in an outstanding performance at Silverstone [in the test]. And then based off that, we decided to put him into the AlphaTauri for the remainder of the year.”
When asked to confirm whether it was the lack of consistency that led to Ricciardo’s departure, Horner responded in agreement and referred to the sharp fluctuations in his performance throughout the race weekend in Miami as an example. Moreover, in a shocking reveal, he added that Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko was keen to drop the Australian around the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I think it was the lack of consistency. I mean, he started the season, you know, roughly. And then Miami was a weekend of two halves. The Friday and Saturday morning was fantastic. And it looked like the Daniel of old defending against Ferraris and, you know, outdriving the car. But then the Saturday afternoon and Sunday were disastrous.
“And, you know, even around Barcelona, Helmut [Marko] wanted him out of the car. And there was already a lot of pressure on him there.”
As the 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve questioned Ricciardo’s prospects in F1 after years of underperformance, Horner commented that the harsh criticism fuelled the 35-year-old to deliver better results in Montreal.
The Red Bull team principal even went on to quip about their back-and-forth and remarked that he considered calling Villeneuve before every race weekend in order to motivate the RB driver on track.
“But by the time we got to Montreal, it was actually dear old Jacques Villeneuve, got him properly wound up by giving him a hard time.
“And it definitely fired him up because the way he drove the car that weekend, he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and put together a very strong race weekend. I did say that, I said, ‘give Jacques a call every time, before every Grand Prix before for the rest of the year’. Because whatever he said, it definitely worked.”
In terms of the pressure that Ricciardo was put under and why they were less lenient towards him in comparison to Pérez, Horner defended their decision by asserting that the eight-time race winner had to earn his seat back.
Adding that he had provided Ricciardo ample time to adapt to the car and score points on a regular basis, the Brit admitted that they couldn’t justify switching the drivers.
Given that both Ricciardo and Pérez have grappled with the issue of inconsistency throughout the season, the team no longer saw the Australian as a viable alternative to pair up with Verstappen.
“I’ve done my very best to buy him as much time in the car to allow him to deliver. So otherwise he would have been out of the car after Barcelona.
“And I think all the drivers are under pressure to deliver. But the reason that Daniel [Ricciardo] was in that car was to get himself back into a position to ultimately be there to pick up the pieces if Checo [Pérez] didn’t deliver. And the problem was they both had issues with form at varying times.
“Checo [Pérez] started the season very well, very strongly. And Daniel [Ricciardo] was struggling. And then obviously as Checo [Pérez] lost form, Daniel [Ricciardo] found a bit of form. But it was never compelling enough to say, ‘okay, you know, we should switch the two drivers’.”
