Formula 1 News: Ricciardo’s days in F1 appear numbered (2nd Update)

(GMM) Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career may now be in a two-race countdown to the end.

Not one to be liberal with praise, Red Bull’s powerful F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko has said several times in the past days that Yuki Tsunoda is doing enough to keep his place in the energy drink company’s ranks.

“Franz Tost and I have always believed in him,” he wrote in his exclusive column for Speed Week. “His problems were a lack of control, outbursts and a tendency to make mistakes. All of that has gone this season.”

The same sort of praise, however, is not being directed at experienced former race winner Ricciardo, who at 34 was given another chance to keep his career alive at the junior outfit RB.

“No, it’s not annoying,” the Australian said when asked about the loss of support from Marko. “Obviously everyone’s talking positively when things go well, and they don’t talk so positively when they don’t. It’s just part of it.”

However, the New Zealand Herald newspaper is suddenly reporting that Marko has in fact told Ricciardo that his seat is only guaranteed for the next two races – in Japan and China.

For Miami, Red Bull reserve – and New Zealander – Liam Lawson could bounce back into the race seat after impressing when Ricciardo was injured last year.

Rumors suggest the attempt to revive Ricciardo’s career was actually the brainchild of the embattled Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

“He’s a big boy,” Horner said in Melbourne, “he’ll pick himself up.

“I think it’s still very early in the year to even be thinking about next year.”

Ricciardo also has support within the Faenza-based RB ranks, including the team’s CEO, Peter Bayer.

“Daniel found his pace again after qualifying,” Bayer told Servus TV before departing Melbourne. “We believe that from now on we can really rely on him and that he will understand the car more and more.”

Bayer said Ricciardo’s current problem is that the 2024 car is simply better suited to Japanese Tsunoda’s driving style.

“Yuki brakes later and harder,” he explained. “Therein lies the secret, probably.

“The balance plays a role there, because if you brake hard, some of the aerodynamic support is lost. So it’s up to Daniel to brake harder,” Bayer joked.

“But that is where the difference lies at the moment.”

—

Trusted sources within Red Bull Racing, which has an overarching contract with Ricciardo, denied the rumors outright when approached by Speedcafe.

While acknowledging there is pressure on Ricciardo and a good weekend – not just a good result – is needed, there’s no appetite or interest in changing. Conversations on the topic have not taken place, they confirmed.

That was reinforced by a senior source within RB who reaffirmed support for their Australian ace.

New Zealand’s Liam Lawson could be in a full-time Formula One seat as early as May, after Red Bull issued a warning to Daniel Ricciardo, who drives for their subsidiary team Racing Bulls.

The NZ Herald reports Ricciardo has been given an ultimatum by Red Bull’s head of driver development, Dr Helmut Marko, a known admirer of Lawson’s.

Should Ricciardo fail to improve over the next two Grand Prix in Japan and China respectively, Red Bull will perform a swap that sees Lawson likely installed in the Racing Bulls seat for Miami and remain with the team for the rest of the season.

The Herald also understands Lawson is seen internally as Red Bull’s best option to partner world champion Max Verstappen long-term, with current teammate Sergio Perez’s contract to expire at the end of the 2024 season.

After poor start to the season, pressure is mounting on Ricciardo to keep his seat as Red Bull look to the future. Yuki Tsunoda’s position is understood to be safe, given his links to Honda, Red Bull’s engine supplier through until the end of 2025 and the fact that he has been beating teammate Ricciardo everywhere.

Popular Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo cannot even beat his Visa Cash App RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Any dream of being Verstappen’s teammate is over.

(GMM) Red Bull’s notorious sword of Damocles is now hanging over the heads of a trio of Formula 1 drivers – Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda’s heads.

Ricciardo and Tsunoda, teammates at Red Bull’s feeder F1 team RB this year, appeared to be in a head-to-head this year to potentially replace Perez as Max Verstappen’s 2025 teammate.

“Both may be hoping for a place in the first team,” Red Bull’s influential F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko told Sky Deutschland in Australia. “But for that to happen, one of them will have to be well ahead of the other.

“Ricciardo is a little behind,” said the 80-year-old. “But let’s say it like this: Tsunoda has speed in qualifying, but in the race, they are both too slow.

“I think at least a point should have been scored in each of the first two races,” Marko continued. “It’s very difficult to score points when you’re behind the top five teams, but when you have the opportunity, you can’t make mistakes.”

Marko, however, admitted that even Perez’s place at Red Bull Racing next year is in doubt.

“We are happy with Perez,” he said, “but he is no longer young. Neither is Ricciardo. Perhaps we’ll turn our attention to someone else.”

The obvious ‘someone else’ could be Red Bull’s current 22-year-old reserve Liam Lawson, who impressed when he filled in for the injured Ricciardo last year.

“First he needs to prove himself,” Marko said. “But what he showed last year was very impressive.”

The Austrian admitted that it might therefore make sense to keep Perez, 34, in pole position for a new contract for 2025.

“He drove two very good races,” said Marko. “He is second in the championship. The question of who should replace Perez now is not really an issue.

“It’s about the future.”