F1 News: Red Bull Advisor Issues Crushing Blow To Daniel Ricciardo Over Hopes Of Grid Return
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has delivered a crushing blow to Daniel Ricciardo amid his ongoing hopes for a return to a permanent F1 seat in 2024.
McLaren announced during the 2022 season that they were parting ways with the Australian driver at the end of the year. After a lot of speculation during 'silly season' of where Ricciardo would drive next. However, as the season drew to a close it became apparent that he had not been able to secure a seat for 2023.
After the 2022 season, Red Bull announced that they had signed the eight-time grand prix winner as their third driver for 2023. Ricciardo has since made it clear that he is hopeful for a full-time return in 2024, but he is only interested in a competitive seat which does minimise his chances.
Marko has diminished those hopes of a competitive seat in a recent interview with Motorsport-Total.com, claiming that Ricciardo is not at the same level as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Marko explained:
“He is not at the level of [Max] Verstappen and [Sergio] Perez [on the simulator]."
There have been rumours of Ricciardo taking Nyck de Vries' AlphaTauri seat for next year after the Dutch driver has failed to impress so far during his rookie season, although this has not been confirmed. Marko continued:
“AlphaTauri is AlphaTauri. And Red Bull Racing is Red Bull Racing. Whether you drive in midfield or whether you drive at the front, that’s a completely different pressure, a completely different climate.
"We know his qualities.
“Then came the Renault era. Then McLaren came, and there was a slump. That wasn’t the Ricciardo we knew.”
As the 2023 'silly season' draws in, it will be interesting to see if any suitable openings come up for Ricciardo and if he is considered for those.