F1 Expert Asks Daniel Ricciardo to Include ‘No Helmut Marko’ Clause in His Contract if He Rejoins Red Bull

While discussing Daniel Ricciardo’s career on the ‘Nailing The Apex’ podcast, F1 experts Adam Wylde and Tim Hauraney admitted that the Aussie’s return to Red Bull seemed like a long shot, despite Team Principal Christian Horner recently leaving the door open for him. However, Wylde offered a piece of advice for the Honey Badger should he ever make a comeback.

Horner recently revealed that Red Bull did its best to convince Ricciardo to remain with the team as a brand ambassador, referring to it as a “toothpaste deal.” 

Red Bull says it wants to keep Daniel Ricciardo in an “ambassadorial capacity” but team boss Christian Horner has even left the door slightly ajar for Ricciardo to return to a Red Bull cockpit: pic.twitter.com/RG4DJ9XrPf

— The Race (@wearetherace) October 1, 2024

However, Horner later added that he was not ruling out a potential return for Ricciardo to Red Bull as a driver.

In the podcast, when Hauraney asked Wylde what he would do if he were in Ricciardo’s shoes and Red Bull came knocking, he responded, “You want to go to a place where you’re wanted. And so if you’re going anywhere, you’re going to the Red Bull Senior Team, you’re putting in your contract that Helmut Marko – you don’t need to have any interactions with him.”

According to Wylde, Marko, whether or not he does it intentionally, often hurts the confidence of the drivers in the team which affects their performance. The suggestion also makes sense for Ricciardo. Self-belief would be crucial if he were to return to Red Bull someday.

Why is Ricciardo going back to Red Bull far-fetched?

When Horner spoke about Ricciardo’s possible return to Red Bull, he highlighted the circumstances under which it would even be considered. Both Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson would need to perform poorly at the team.

While Perez is undoubtedly underperforming, it can’t be said the same will happen with Lawson. Even if it were to happen, Ricciardo would be stepping in as a second driver to Max Verstappen at best.

This is precisely why Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018 in the first place; he felt the team was favoring Verstappen. As such, all the odds are against Ricciardo making a return to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit.