Daniel Ricciardo has been replaced by Liam Lawson in Racing Bulls, official news for a few days now. However, some interesting behind-the-scenes information is emerging: Horner, on the F1 Nation podcast, told how Helmut Marko wanted to sideline the Australian already in Barcelona.
Marko on Ricciardo: a hammering pressure
Red Bull has won 7 drivers' and 6 constructors' championships in its history. Important successes that certainly did not come about due to the exploits regarding driver management, disorganized, without regard for the people involved and hostage of the hysterical Helmut Marko. The story is he repeats. Once again a driver was forced not to finish the season, after being repeatedly harassed by the Austrian manager. Last year it was the turn of the promising Nyck De Vries, this year instead the confusing Red Bull policy hit Daniel Ricciardo.
Confusing especially if we take into consideration what happened during the summer phase. Sergio Perez seemed to be replaced by the Australian but, in the end, the change between the two drivers did not materialize. Daniel Ricciardo thus went from being considered a valid option for the second driver spot in Red Bull to having to leave his place for the New Zealander Lawson. All this in the space of two months, which seems absurd, especially if we look at Ricciardo's results from the Belgian GP to the Singapore GP: one point earned, always being ahead of his teammate Tsunoda, except in the last race, in which however he set the fastest lap, taking the additional point away from Lando Norris.
Ricciardo, after the disappointing Monaco GP, seemed to have found a series of better results compared to the beginning of the season, at a time in 2024 that has seen Racing Bulls regress in terms of performance. What cost the driver from Perth dearly were the poor results collected in the first races, which instead saw Tsunoda earn many points for the Racing Bulls colors. Evidently what Ricciardo needed was time, certainly not the pressure that Marko reserves for his drivers in moments of difficulty. A toxic management, that of Red Bull, which seems anything but functional.
Horner on Ricciardo issue: “Already after Miami a lot of pressure on Daniel”
Time, a constant in this sport. What all drivers try to beat on the track, what is too often not granted to Red Bull drivers. In this context, the statements released by Christian Horner have shed further clarity on the background regarding Ricciardo's 2024 season. After the first disappointing races, it seems that Marko was already strongly annoyed about the performance of the now ex-Racing Bulls driver after the Miami GP.Daniel had started the season abruptly, and Miami had been a weekend of two faces. Friday and Saturday morning were fantastic, with Daniele defending himself very well against the two Ferraris (referring to the sprint race). But Saturday afternoon and Sunday were disastrous. And so, already before Barcelona, Helmut wanted him out of the game, already putting a lot of pressure on him".
Not only Marko. As Horner always explains, also Jacques Villeneuve criticized Ricciardo for his performance on the eve of the Canadian GP. In that case, however, Ricciardo knew how to react, going on to conquer the eighth position in the race and four points.I told Daniel: always call Jaques before every GP for the rest of the year. Whatever he told you it definitely worked“. And so it was. Horner, as he tells it, asked Marko for time for Ricciardo, and he was right. In fact, since the Montreal GP, there have been few occasions in which Tsunoda has managed to prevail over his teammate. At that point, Ricciardo’s performances put Sergio Perez’s place at Red Bull at risk, but, as we know, they were not enough.
“I did my best to give Daniel more time. Otherwise he would have been out after Barcelona,” Horner explains.All drivers are under pressure, but the reason Daniel was still in the car is that he was alone she put himself in a position to replace Checo if the latter had continued to underperform“. As mentioned, Ricciardo's performance, although improved, was not entirely successful in convincing Horner and Marko: “Checo started the season very well while Daniele was in difficulty. Then the situation reversed, but not enough to convince us to make changes".
What Horner said is certainly true, but it does not take into account, at least as far as he has released it, the performances of the two teams. Ricciardo, as mentioned, did his best when Racing Bulls struggled with the updates. Perez instead obtained his best results when Red Bull still dominated the rest of the grid at the beginning of the season. But today, all these calculations are meaningless. Ricciardo is no longer an F1 driver, while Perez was forced to deny the rumors that he will retire at the end of the season. In the meantime, Liam Lawson is appearing on the Circus, after having given a good impression to experts and fans last year. Let's hope that, at least to him, Marko will be able to give him some time.
Source statements: Motorsport.com
