Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has stated Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t done enough to merit a place with the parent Formula 1 team amid its choice to retain Sergio Perez.
Perez has headed into the summer break having endured a wretched streak which has comprised 28 points in eight rounds, putting Red Bull’s title hopes under threat.
But while that dismal streak prompted his position to be evaluated during a meeting in the summer break, Red Bull has opted to hand the Mexican a surprise reprieve.
Ricciardo, who drove with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, was considered the probable candidate to replace Perez should the team have elected to make a change.
However, the Australian will remain with Red Bull’s sister squad, RB, once the campaign resumes as he aims to continue staking his claim to the drive that he vacated.
Ricciardo endured a stuttering start to the season when the Faenza-based squad was at its most competitive and trails 10 points behind his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite an upturn in results over recent months with three points scores across the past six rounds, Marko has admitted that it wasn’t enough to warrant a promotion.
“Daniel was put in the car and if he would have been significantly faster than Yuki there was an idea to bring him back to Red Bull Racing,” Marko told ESPN.
“But he also had this up and down. So, so far, he didn’t fulfil the criteria to be a Red Bull Racing driver.”
Ricciardo is in the unusual position where he could either receive a step up or be ousted altogether in the circumstance where Perez remains with Red Bull next term.
The eight-time F1 race winner’s place at RB is not assured in 2025 as Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson appears destined to be handed the gig alongside Tsunoda.
Marko has indicated that RB has chosen to hand Lawson, who impressed when he covered the sidelined Ricciardo last term, his long-awaited step to a full-time seat.
“It was a clear statement from the shareholders that Racing Bulls is a junior team and this route will be how the future will look,” Marko outlined.
“It’s a tough time for someone like Liam, especially as he jumped into the car under very, very difficult circumstances and did very well.
“We rate him high and he will get his chance. Just wait. September [when Red Bull’s option on Lawson expires], you will have an answer.”
Marko has expressed that Red Bull harbours optimism that Perez can overcome his dip to return to the level which saw him record four podiums in the first five races.
The Austrian, 81, has asserted the growing gap between Perez and Max Verstappen has derived from Red Bull’s RB20 car becoming harder to handle in recent weeks.
“We believe that we can turn it round and make it more stable for him,” he explained.
“To be team-mate to Max is not the nicest thing in Formula One. Checo has his merits, he’s won races.
“Our discussion was not just about drivers, it was regular discussions we had of what can we do to improve the situation? We have to try to make the car more easy to drive.
“The more difficult the car is to drive, the more the difference to Max comes out because he’s such an outstanding talent.
“If the rear steps out he won’t lift the throttle, he’s just, ‘yeah, it’s a little bit nervous,’ Checo says ‘it’s difficult’ or ‘its undriveable.’
“So to be next to Max is a different story. So we said let’s try to make the car more easy to drive, get more balance,
which is also something Max wants, and the best thing is to keep going with Checo and hope that he … the main problem was this up and down.
“He had some very good results, very good performances, then the next day he was half a second off Max or so.”
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