A weird rumour had started to surface on social media last night when images of Gasly getting into Ricciardo’s car had gone viral.
There was speculation around Ricciardo’s future with Red Bull, as some fans believed Red Bull could actually demote him to Toro Rosso for the remaining part of the season, so as to help Gasly get more involved with team before his first full season.
A few fans also believed that maybe Red Bull wanted to do away with Ricciardo at the earliest so that he does not take important 2019 development information with him to Renault.
Impatient d’être en 2019, @PierreGASLY s’installe dans la @redbullracing de @danielricciardo cet après midi à Monza pic.twitter.com/CpvMgjCwV5
— Laurent Dupin (@LaurentDupin_f1) August 30, 2018
Pour des essais ? Ou juste pour le fun ?
— flo2sen (@flo2sen) August 30, 2018
However, all that speculation has been shot down by Christian Horner today, confirming that Gasly got into Ricciardo’s car just to check the elbow clearance for next year.
“He is not due to drive the car until after the season,” Horner confirmed.
Gasly was in the Red Bull yesterday just to check things like elbow clearance for next year. “He is not due to drive the car until after the season,” says Horner after reports of Gasly swapping with Ricciardo before the end of the season
#SkyF1 #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/mrGVjkhmug
— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) August 31, 2018
Daniel Ricciardo will thus for sure see out his contract at Red Bull and would be hoping for a strong finish to what has been a good partnership.
The weekend however hasn’t quite started well for Ricciardo, as he has run into engine issues and will reportedly start at the back of the grid.