Daniel Ricciardo F1 News: Christian Horner makes lineup call after Red Bull driver discussion

Daniel Ricciardo

Horner makes Ricciardo call after Red Bull driver lineup discussion

Daniel Ricciardo was axed from RB after the 2024 Singapore GP

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 3 March 2025 21:54 Updated: 12:56

Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner has made a call regarding Daniel Ricciardo in discussions over an unusual driver lineup.

The Aussie racing star was dropped from Red Bull's junior team, Racing Bulls, last year following the Singapore Grand Prix, having failed to provide the desired results as both outfits struggled.

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Horner faced a tricky year both on and off track in 2024, with his main Red Bull team slipping down the order, finishing in third place despite another drivers' title victory for star driver Max Verstappen.

F1 rivals McLaren and Ferrari leapfrogged the former constructors' champions, and with Verstappen practically carrying the team alone after a further dip in performance for team-mate Sergio Perez, Horner's outfit finished the year with 589 points.

But it wasn't just the main team that were concerned by the lack of results, with Racing Bulls finishing way down in eighth in the constructors' standings despite a change in their driver lineup midway through last season.

Daniel Ricciardo has remained a part of the Red Bull family throughout a significant amount of his F1 career

Daniel Ricciardo was axed by VCARB midway through the 2024 F1 season

Horner rejects Ricciardo F1 ultimatum

Ricciardo was handed a career lifeline in 2024 when he returned to the sport as a full-time driver with Racing Bulls, after his performances had dipped since his glory days at Red Bull's main team between 2014 and 2018.

At points last season, the 35-year-old was even touted as a potential replacement for Perez, with a promotion back to Horner's outfit not out of the question.

Unfortunately for the fan-favourite racer, Horner, his F1 advisor Helmut Marko and VCARB chief Laurent Mekies made the decision to drop Ricciardo from the lineup with just six races to go in the championship, replacing him with the now Red Bull driver, Liam Lawson.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were team-mates from 2016 until the end of 2018

With no seat in the pinnacle of motorsport for the fast-approaching 2025 season, Ricciardo has teased retirement, been closely linked with a seat at the pending Cadillac F1 team and been encouraged to try his hand at broadcasting instead.

With no plans confirmed for Ricciardo for 2025, Horner has been hit with a bizarre driver lineup enquiry ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Speaking to F1 content creator Bella James ahead of the 2025 championship opener on March 16, Horner was asked to take part in a game of 'kiss, marry, kill?' with the lineup consisting of three Red Bull drivers both past and present in the form of Verstappen, Ricciardo, and the now retired Sebastian Vettel.

Whilst at first the F1 boss appeared to consider the lighthearted question in a clip shared to TikTok, he eventually made the call to evade the question, instead responding: "I can't play games like that."

@bxllajames Can’t blame a girl for trying ??‍♀️ #christianhorner #f1 #redbull #formula1 ♬ original sound - Bella

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 Christian Horner Daniel Ricciardo Singapore Grand Prix Racing Bulls