Daniel Ricciardo had aimed for 2024 to be a season of his redemption. After a failed two-year stint with McLaren, Red Bull gave the Australian a second chance at its sister team, V-CARB, in hopes of getting him back alongside Max Verstappen. However, the Honey Badger couldn’t have imagined a worse start to his redemption campaign. Now, it seems like his dream of getting back to Red Bull will remain just a dream.
According to The Race‘s F1 expert, Scott Mitchell-Malm, the #3 driver feels responsible for not delivering on Red Bull’s expectations.
“He [Daniel Ricciardo] is holding himself accountable for missing out on this chance and accepts he has not done enough for that top seat,” he writes.
Yuki Tsunoda, the driver Ricciardo was supposed to outperform, has had the upper hand so far this season. The Japanese driver has scored more than double the points tally of Ricciardo and as a result, he has already earned an extension with V-CARB for 2025, something the Aussie still doesn’t have.
But the biggest blow to Ricciardo came when Red Bull decided to extend the contract with Sergio Perez. The Mexican has secured a two-year contract extension at the Milton Keynes. While it is a 1+1 year deal, as per Christian Horner, it still gives Perez some security until the end of 2026.
While this doesn’t guarantee that Ricciardo could never go back to Red Bull, it certainly has put the Aussie’s second career stint in jeopardy.
Mitchell-Malm also explained how the 34-year-old has claimed to have been “through some ‘self-therapy’ after Monaco and had questioned things he might be doing wrong ‘away from the track’,” indicating that “he’s been feeling stretched from too many extra activities – a sentiment he’s also expressed in the past.”
These concerns won’t go unnoticed as even V-CARB has certain performance expectations. So, Red Bull will think about its contingency replacement plans, just in case Ricciardo’s inconsistency persists.
Daniel Ricciardo is aware of the threat from Liam Lawson
The F1 journalist also mentioned how Ricciardo is aware that his race seat is under threat from Red Bull and V-CARB reserve driver, Liam Lawson. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s current Formula 2 contender, Isack Hadjar may also be an outside contender. However, the New Zealander is more of an immediate threat to Ricciardo, and for a good reason.
During his short F1 debut stint last year as a stand-in for the Australian in five races, Lawson impressed everyone with his performance. He showed that he was ready to take on the challenge of Formula 1 full-time.
The 22-year-old was even able to score his first points at the Singapore Grand Prix. On the other hand, Tsunoda couldn’t outclass him in those five races. What further improves Lawson’s chances of replacing Ricciardo at V-CARB in 2025 is that Red Bull had promised to get him a seat in Formula 1 by 2025, or else he could start exploring other options outside of Red Bull.
If Ricciardo cannot prove himself in 2024, Red Bull will struggle to justify keeping him instead of a young talent like Liam Lawson, despite the Aussie’s commercial value to the team.
