2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg believes the broken hand currently ruling Daniel Ricciardo out of Formula 1 action has ended his hopes of a 2024 Red Bull drive.
Sergio Perez currently retains a contract for next year, but the Mexican’s inconsistent run throughout the current season has created speculation that he could be moved aside.
Despite Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner insisting Perez will remain alongside Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko claimed the 33-year-old’s stay wasn’t guaranteed.
The pressure was ramped up hugely on Perez by the mid-season announcement that Ricciardo, who returned to the Red Bull fold this year after being dropped by McLaren, would be replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season.
However, a crash in FP3 during only the third weekend of his comeback venture at the Dutch Grand Prix has placed Ricciardo out of racing, with Horner not expecting him back until next month’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Although Rosberg expects Ricciardo to be retained by AlphaTauri for another season, the ex-Mercedes driver asserts the disruption is likely to end his slim chances of securing a Red Bull drive for 2024.
“How unlucky has that been for Daniel, though? It’s incredible,” Rosberg mentioned on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
“He gets this chance to come back and he breaks his hand in a freak accident, so unlucky.
“The latest from Christian Horner is that Danny will be back in Qatar. So he still misses a couple of races and then he’ll be able to come back because it’s apparently quite a decent break of the hand he’s had.
“It makes it difficult, but Daniel has such a value to Red Bull, he’s so liked by Red Bull that they’ll definitely be patient in giving him a definite clear chance.
“But I think this break could actually be the difference between him getting a shot at replacing Perez next year and having another year in AlphaTauri.
“I think the hand break could have the effect of putting him into one more year at AlphaTauri.”
Ricciardo is yet to be confirmed on the 2024 grid, with AlphaTauri delaying the decision on its driver line-up for next year.
Providing the eight-time race winner secures a permanent drive with Red Bull’s second-string outfit, Ricciardo will likely be partnered by one of Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson.
Tsunoda has earned praise from Red Bull advisor Marko this year for his impressive showings amid a challenging campaign for AlphaTauri, while the Austrian has also heaped praise on Lawson for his swift adaptation in deputising for Ricciardo.
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