Christian Horner pays F1 tribute to 'special' Daniel Ricciardo with incredible Red Bull promise

Red Bull

Horner pays tribute to 'special' Ricciardo with incredible Red Bull promise

The Red Bull team principal has always had a soft spot for Daniel Ricciardo

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 27 September 2024 17:57 Updated: 20:57

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has broken his silence on the untimely departure of Daniel Ricciardo from Formula 1.

It was announced on Thursday that the Aussie driver would leave RB with immediate effect in order for 22-year-old Liam Lawson to take over his seat for the remainder of the 2024 season.

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Throughout his 14 seasons on the grid, Ricciardo has raced for five different teams and secured eight grands prix victories, including an iconic win at the Monaco GP in 2018.

Having dipped in and out of the Red Bull family, team boss Horner always made it clear he wanted the Aussie back working within the main team.

Ricciardo's first steps towards F1 were with Horner's outfit after becoming the team's test and reserve driver in 2009 before his debut in the sport with HRT in 2011.

Daniel Ricciardo's Monaco GP celebration has become iconic in F1

Daniel Ricciardo's first Red Bull team-mate was Sebastian Vettel

Ricciardo's Red Bull journey

Following an early contract termination from McLaren in 2022, Ricciardo was replaced by fellow countryman Oscar Piastri at the papaya outfit, leaving him without a seat for the 2023 season.

Ricciardo instead was welcomed back into the Red Bull family with open arms, this time watching from within the garage as a reserve driver, awaiting his chance to return to the track.

The opportunity arose in 2023, when the Red Bull junior team, AlphaTauri at the time, dropped Nyck de Vries mid-season.

Ricciardo was set to replace the rookie Dutchman from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards but after just two races, was replaced by Lawson after breaking his hand during FP2 at Zandvoort.

It is now Lawson who will replace him once again, hoping to prove himself worthy of a full-time seat in 2025.

Daniel Ricciardo will be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the 2024 season

What was Horner's parting Ricciardo promise?

Following the confirmation of Ricciardo's F1 exit, Horner took to social media to express his thanks to the 35-year-old.

"From the moment you arrived at Red Bull it was obvious you were so much more than just a driver. Your constant enthusiasm, sense of humour and attitude will leave an indelible legacy on the Team here in Milton Keynes and F1 as a whole."

"Thank you for the wins, smiles, songs (and I wish I could say the shoeys)."

Horner continued his parting message to Ricciardo with a promise over the Aussie's future: "You will always be a special part of the Red Bull Family.

"8 wins, 32 podiums, 1329 points. These statistics and accolades are not the only measure of who you are and what you have achieved. Thank you Daniel."

Despite Horner's promise, it remains unclear whether the honey badger will find himself back at Red Bull from the sidelines or if this truly is the end of his F1 career.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Red Bull Formula 1 Christian Horner Daniel Ricciardo