Ricciardo F1 future hopes dented with brutal Marko putdown

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has dented Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 future hopes in a recent interview.

The Australian’s performances this season have been subject to scrutiny, with team-mate Yuki Tsunoda comprehensively beating him thus far.

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Tsunoda and Ricciardo’s qualifying head-to-head sits at 7-2 in favour of the Japanese driver, who has made a series of Q3 appearances.

Aside from a P4 in the Miami sprint, Ricciardo had failed to score a point this season up until his eighth place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Tsunoda achieving most of RB’s points.

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Recently, world champion Jacques Villeneuve questioned ‘why’ Ricciardo was still in F1, delivering a brutal assessment of the driver’s career.

If Ricciardo continues to under-deliver RB reserve driver, Liam Lawson, could be brought in to replace the 34-year-old.

RB, formerly Alpha Tauri and Toro Rosso, has acted as a junior team to Red Bull, preparing and assessing young talent for a seat at the senior team.

However, by retaining Ricciardo and failing to promote junior drivers, RB are rejecting the philosophy they were built on.

Speaking to Sky Germany during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Helmut Marko insisted that RB are still a junior team, despite their line-up of experienced drivers this season.

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“Tsunoda is set with his performances. Ricciardo had one good sprint race but he is clearly behind Tsunoda. RB is still a junior team and you have to think about what will happen in the future,” Marko said.

When asked if Liam Lawson would replace Daniel Ricciardo, Marko emphasised that RB was committed to youth, with a roster of young drivers to choose from.

“Liam Lawson is definitely on the list but we also have another two good drivers with Hadjar and Iwasa. We are very well positioned in the youth department,” Marko added.

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