F1 News: Red Bull chief gives firm answer on Ricciardo 'NONSENSE'

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull chief gives firm answer on Ricciardo 'NONSENSE'

A senior figure within Red Bull has discussed Daniel Ricciardo's future in a recent column.

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 13 May 2024 20:58 Updated: 18:00

A Red Bull boss has provided their verdict on Daniel Ricciardo’s future after a mixed performance at the Miami Grand Prix.

The weekend started off strong for Ricciardo, finishing P4 in the sprint race, the best result for the driver and RB team so far this season.

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However, his fortunes drastically changed only hours later, when he failed to progress further than Q1 in qualifying.

Ricciardo started the Miami Grand Prix last, carrying over a penalty from the Chinese Grand Prix, with P15 being the best result he could achieve.

Daniel Ricciardo celebrated a P4 with RB in Miami

Daniel Ricciardo had a difficult end to his Miami Grand Prix

Is there a future for Ricciardo in F1?

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda, however, enjoyed another strong finish, claiming 7th and a decent haul of points.

Miami reflected the narrative of RB’s 2024 season, with Tsunoda consistently making Q3 appearances or achieving points finishes.

Ricciardo, on the other hand, has demonstrated a lack of pace compared to his teammate, whilst also being involved in race ending collisions.

He exited during lap one of the Japanese Grand Prix following an incident with Alexander Albon, and had a similarly dramatic exchange with Lance Stroll in China.

Altogether this has spearheaded rumours that Ricciardo will lose his race seat, and be replaced by Liam Lawson.

However, in his column for Speedweek Helmut Marko revealed his plans for Daniel Ricciardo’s and an assessment of the Australian’s performances.

“He [Ricciardo] delivered a remarkable performance in the sprint. The fact that he came fourth was sensational,” the Red Bull advisor wrote.

Helmut Marko praises Daniel Ricciardo's sprint race performance

“You can lose a lot of time in the third sector, and that is exactly what happened to Ricciardo during race qualifying.

“He was eliminated in Q1 and did not get going again in the race. Yuki [Tsunoda] consistently set fast times, while Ricciardo lacked the speed and confidence that we saw on Saturday.”

“The gossip that Ricciardo is being replaced is nonsense. Nothing is planned at all.”

Marko did not, however, rule out that Ricciardo may be replaced down the road.

“We will of course look at this in the future,” he concluded.

Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo Miami Grand Prix Chinese Grand Prix