Ricciardo SNUBBED as F1 prospect backed to partner Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo has been snubbed in favour of a top prospect during a debate over who could soon line up alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

The Australian driver has been linked with a shock return to the team he left back in 2018, as speculation over the future of current Red Bull racer Sergio Perez continues.

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The Mexican driver has endured a torrid campaign in 2024, and sits seventh in the drivers' standings, more than 140 points behind his team-mate.

Despite recently signing a new contract at the constructors' champions, his yield of 28 points from his last eight outings have piled on the the pressure.

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Ricciardo has also failed to meet expectations at Visa Cash App RB this year, and therefore, it has been something of a surprise to see the eight-time race winner involved in the conversation around one of the most coveted seats in the sport.

There have been major question marks regarding his own future in F1, with his position previously believed to be under threat -most notably from reserve driver Liam Lawson - before enjoying a recent upturn in results.

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Dutch journalist Erik van Haren delivered his verdict on Ricciardo's prospects, and made the case for Lawson being the more attractive option for Red Bull.

“It’s interesting to see with Checo, because if you count all the drivers you have one too many and Helmut Marko said already that they have to make a decision with Liam in September.

"I think there’s something in his contract that if he doesn’t know anything about his future, he can go free after the year.

“But I think he deserves a seat. RB is a development team, a young driver team, and Yuki [Tsunoda] has been there for four years now as well.

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“It will not be a good signal if again you go on with Yuki and with Daniel in that team. I think Liam deserves a chance as well.

“If Daniel is doing a great job for the next couple of months, you can promote him again.

“And if he’s not, but you want to stick with Daniel, then I think you should put Liam next to Max Verstappen because I think he deserves it.

“Of course, it was only four or five races, but he showed his talent last year and it’s not a good signal again to have someone on the bench for that many years.

“If the team is performing well, if all the four drivers are performing on the maximum, there’s no point of discussion, but that’s not the case of course.

“So it’s really difficult to tell the younger drivers: ‘OK, you have to wait still'.”

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