After departing from the McLaren F1 team, Daniel Ricciardo made a return to the Red Bull F1 team as a third driver. But Sky F1 commentator David Croft thinks that the Milton-Keynes-based team should think beyond the Honey Badger for their future.
The Australian’s two-year stint with McLaren was massively disheartening for himself and for his value in the drivers market. Back in 2018, when Ricciardo was a part of the Red Bull F1 team, he was one of the best drivers on the grid.
But ever since his move to Renault, Ricciardo has been struggling to find a way up to the top of the paddock.
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How Ricciardo plays a role in the driver shuffle in Red Bull?
While announcing his 1-year break from the sport, the 33-year-old stated that he hopes to make a strong return in the 2024 season.
Then a few months later he re-signed a deal with Red Bull and many saw it as a move to put pressure on Sergio Perez for the other side of the garage.
On top of the uncertainty of Perez’s seat is their ace Max Verstappen frequently claiming that he does not wish to remain in F1 for the long term.
So Red Bull might also want to look for someone who could replace their 2-time champion. This is when Ricciardo comes into play being the third driver in the team with high ambitions. There are multiple possibilities in which he could play a part in the driver shuffle within the Red Bull camp.
David Croft thinks Red Bull should look for someone else
Speaking about the future of Red Bull, Croft explained that both Ricciardo and Perez are capable of winning races but while the Honey Badger is a terrific driver, he is not Red Bull’s future.
He stressed that it is mainly because of his age. Croft thinks that if Verstappen does call time on his F1 career, Red Bull should look for someone else than Ricciardo if Perez is not the answer for them.
Croft also believes that since Verstappen is already thinking about stopping at the age of 31, Red Bull must also begin to find someone to fill the void.
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