Helmut Marko names one condition for Daniel Ricciardo to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next season

Dr. Helmut Marko has issued an ultimatum to Daniel Ricciardo for a permanent seat offer at Red Bull in 2025 and it involves his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Daniel Ricciardo was made Red Bull's reserve driver after his contract with McLaren was terminated a year early on "mutual grounds." Later during the midst of the 2023 F1 season, Ricciardo was given a permanent seat with Visa Cash App RB (then called AlphaTauri) after rookie driver Nyck de Vries was dropped from the team mid-season.

While the Australian will continue to race with the team in the 2024 season, he could be looking out for an opportunity to race with Red Bull given the fact that Sergio Perez does not (currently) have a contract after this season.

Helmut Marko, speaking about the same, issued an ultimatum to Ricciardo involving his current RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda. He said via Motorsport-Total:

"Ricciardo has to show that he has Tsunoda clearly under control. Then he might be a candidate."

While Daniel Ricciardo is much more experienced than Yuki Tsunoda, the latter had 11 more points at the end of the 2023 season. One of the reasons for this was that Ricciardo had joined the team later in the season and was forced to miss another four race weekends following an injury he sustained during the Dutch GP.

Ricciardo only completed seven of the 22 races last season, scoring a total of six points, which he did with a seventh-place finish in Mexico.

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Daniel Ricciardo reveals RB's target for the 2024 F1 season

Visa Cashapp RB managed an eighth-place finish in the standings in 2023 thanks to their impressive development during the latter stages of the season.

Heading into 2024, the team is expected to do much better and maybe challenge the teams at the top, but as Daniel Ricciardo revealed, it remains a "wish." When asked if the car would be able to compete with the teams at the top, he revealed that they are currently targeting the midfield.

"I'd like to say yes, but truth is we're trying to certainly build something right now," Ricciardo said according to RacingNews365.

"And I think this is the year where the team really tries to establish themselves and kind of stand on their own two feet, and obviously then try to establish a fight towards the front of the midfield."

Ricciardo further stated that positive development can be expected from the team as the season progresses, bringing them closer to the front.

"I think, yeah, wins and podiums are a little bit of a wish, at the moment more than maybe a reality. But as the year goes on, I think we will progress and hopefully keep getting closer and closer to the front."

2024 is set to be Ricciardo's first full-length F1 season since his contract with McLaren was terminated.