Christian Horner Reveals Helmut Marko’s Push to Replace Daniel Ricciardo Mid-Season

Christian Horner discloses that Helmut Marko aimed to remove Daniel Ricciardo in June

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner shares that Helmut Marko intended to substitute Daniel Ricciardo following the Spanish Grand Prix.

Christian Horner, the principal of the Red Bull F1 team, has disclosed that Helmut Marko intended to replace Daniel Ricciardo following the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Daniel Ricciardo has been replaced at Red Bull’s affiliated team RB due to a series of disappointing showings this season. Reserve driver Liam Lawson will take his place for the remaining six races of the year.

In an interview on the F1 Nation podcast following the driver change announcement, Horner revealed that Red Bull's motorsport advisor, Marko, believed Ricciardo should have been replaced much sooner this season.

Horner attributed Red Bull's decision to a lack of consistency.

"He had a challenging beginning to the season, but Miami showcased two distinct performances. Friday and Saturday morning were exceptional, reminiscent of Daniel's prime, as he skillfully fended off Ferraris and maximized the car's potential."

However, the situation took a turn for the worse on Saturday afternoon and continued to decline on Sunday. During this time, Helmut was already contemplating removing him from the car, and the pressure on him was mounting significantly, especially around Barcelona.

When we arrived in Montreal, it was none other than Jacques Villeneuve who really got under his skin by challenging him, which definitely motivated him. As a result, he took control of the car with determination and had an impressive race weekend.

"I suggested to Ricciardo that he should contact Jacques before every grand prix for the remainder of the year, as whatever advice Jacques gave seemed to be effective."

Horner emphasized that he made every effort to provide Ricciardo, an eight-time grand prix champion whose Formula 1 career seems to have concluded, the opportunity to improve his performance.

“I made every effort to keep him in the car longer so he could perform, otherwise he would have been replaced after Barcelona,” he stated.

"Every driver faces pressure to perform. However, Daniel's presence in the car was specifically to position himself as the backup option in case Checo failed to meet expectations."

“The challenge was that both of them faced difficulties with their performance at different points. Checo began the season on a high note, performing exceptionally well, while Daniel had a tough time getting into form.”

"As Checo's performance began to decline, Daniel's improved slightly. However, it wasn't significant enough to justify swapping the two drivers."

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