Last Updated on September 29 2024, 9:47 pm

Daniel Ricciardo is unusual in Red Bull’s F1 history of drivers. The Aussie left the current world champions to race for the works Renault team in 2019 but returned four years later as just a reserve driver.

No other driver has been welcomed back into the Red Bull fold after departing and Ricciardo should have been the last person the team considered in 2023, following revelations from Dr. Helmut Marko.

The ‘honey badger’ as he became affectionately known inside and out of the paddock won eight Grand Prix and of the current drivers on the grid, only Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Valterri Bottas have won more F1 races.

 

 

 

Baku crash a seminal moment

Bottas of course was in the world beating Mercedes as he racked up his ten victories, and they usually came when Lewis Hamilton was having a difficult weekend. The other three ahead of Ricciardo in this list are all world champions – so its not a dire haul for an F1 career.

The Finn who is currently racing for Kick Sauber also has an uncertain future given Audi are now calling the shots in terms of the team’s driver lineup for next season. They made it clear they wanted Carlos Sainz as their driver alongside Nico Hulkenberg, but have gone silent since the Spaniard decided to sign for Williams F1 Racing.

In 2016, Reed Bull dropped Daniel Kvyat from driving aligside Ricciardo and replaced him with Max Verstappen. For this season and the next, the Aussie had the edge over Red bull’s rising star. Then came 2018 and Verstappen was less crash prone and began to show his true genius, yet early in the year he and Ricciardo had a massive coming together in Baku while they were disputing P4.

Both drivers were out of there race and Christian Horner was understandably not best pleased. He said: “The most important thing is they recognise it is unacceptable. Both will take valuable lessons from it,” which all seems very even handed.

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Stewards apportion blame equally

The stewards criticised Verstappen for making a double move and under braking which contributed to the crash, yet the yportioned some of the blame to Ricciardo stating: 

“Although the incident had its origins in the moves by (Verstappen), (Ricciardo) also contributed to the incident,” given he admitted leaving the overtaking move too late. Dr. Helmut Marko also suggested both drivers should share the blame for the zero points scored for the Red Bull team.

Never a year later, when Ricciardo had left for Renault, the Austrian changed his tune putting the blame on Max. “Verstappen could have avoided the accident, since Ricciardo was too fast,” Marko told Motorsport.com. “He had not made the turn. He should have used the exit strip. Max should have gone to the side. But instead we got a scandal.”

Red Bull had botched the pit stops and given Verstappen the advantage in similar fashion to McLaren with Lando Norris this year in Hungary. Yet unlike McLaren, the team did not order Verstappen to relinquish his unfair advantage, and so the Dutch driver continued to race, but on fading rubber.

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Daniel in handshake agreement to stay at Red Bull

Ricciardo clearly felt aggrieved after the event, although he played the team game accepting his share of the blame. A number of paddock insiders have shared that Ricciardo was in fact furious with Red Bull and felt they should have sanctioned Verstappen and issued clear team orders over the radio.

Hence it was no surprise when the Australian announced later in the summer he was leaving Red Bull for Renault. Despite having committed his future to Red Bull.

Dr. Marko now reveals Ricciardo had agreed a deal with Red Bull after the crash in Baku. Having watched from his Red Bull car, McLaren being destroyed by the ‘GP2’ Honda engine, he had expressed concerns over the future deal Red Bull were making with the Japanese supplier.

Yet a conversation with Marko appeared to reassure Daniel and he made a decision with the Austrian to remain with the team. “It was [at] an event on the main square in Graz,” Marko told Formula1.de. “Afterwards, we sat down together and actually came to an agreement. Sealed with a handshake.”

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Mateschitz unhappy with the Aussie

“He then travelled to Salzburg and did the same there with Dietrich Mateschitz [Red Bull’s founder]. But he had certain reservations about the Honda engine, which would have come to us, and apparently listened more to Renault and Cyril Abiteboul [then boss of Renault].”

The Red Bull advisor goes on to reveal the founder of the Red Bull energy drinks empire hai since dies in 2022 was most displeased Ricciardo had reneged on his handshakes with Marko and himself.

When Christian Horner decided to re-sign Ricciardo for 2023 as a reserve driver, Dr. Helmut Marko – long standing personal friend of Masteshitz – was unhappy. This led to friction between himself and the Red Bull team boss when Ricciardo was selected to replace Nyck de Vries just ten races into 2023.

Marko had been backing the promotion of Liam Lawson who ironically subsequently deputised for Ricciardo after he broke his hands in Zandvoort. Now Lawson will replace the Australian driver for the final six F1 weekends this year, but as yet is not confirmed for 2025.

Perez ‘final warning’

 

 

 

Red Bull driver lineup may see three new faces for 2025

Lawson appeared to make excuses for his coming performances when announced, saying the rest of the field were better prepared then he was, given they’ve been driving their F1 cars for eighteen race weekends.

This strange comment has led to speculation that Red Bull are uncertain Lawson is the driver to ultimately replace Sergio Perez, and so the remainder of this year is now a week by week audition for the New Zealander.

Red Bull are in a mess over the Perez situation. They have a driver in Yuki Tsunoda who is now in his fourth year with the junior team and yet he is not considered a natural replacement after all this time for Checo.

With Marko suggesting the FIA agreeing to consider seventeen year olds in F1 again, the Austrian claimed this was good news for Arvin Lindblad, who at sixteen years of age is racing in F3. His age is irrelevant unless the Red Bull junior is promoted to F1 in 2025 and that itself opens a whole can of worms.

With Perez gone and Yuki not stepping up, his career in the team looks dicey. Could it be Re Bull have three new drivers next season in Ayumu Iwasa, Arvin Lindblad and either Liam Lawson or Isack Hadjar?

“Russell is faster than Hamilton”

 

 

 

Lawson in line to lose seat to Hadja

Following the Singapore Grand Prix, the Racing Bulls confirmed that 22-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson will replace Daniel Ricciardo in their second cockpit for the remainder of the 2024 Formula One season. While this is an exciting opportunity for Lawson, it is by no means a guarantee of a permanent seat in 2025.

The young driver now faces the challenge of proving himself worthy of keeping his seat, with competition from up-and-coming talents such as Isack Hadjar adding to the pressure… READ MORE