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Red Bull Racing has quashed rumors and reports suggesting Daniel Ricciardo will be replaced by Liam Lawson. Reports of the New Zealander replacing the Australian emerged in the New Zealand Herald suggesting the swap would happen as early as May after the Miami GP.
While the New Zealand Herald ran the story without any substantial evidence, a Red Bull Racing spokesperson told Sportskeeda that it was untrue. The report suggested that the Australian has a deadline to deliver results or could be replaced by Lawson. According to the Red Bull spokesperson’s quote to Sportskeeda, it is understood that the RB driver in fact might not have any deadline to deliver. Christian Horner had spoken to the onsite media saying it was too early to talk about 2025. The Briton went as far as to walk to the back of the grid and encourage Daniel Ricciardo.
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Asked by Sportskeeda about the reports about Daniel Ricciardo, the Red Bull spokesperson said:
“Those rumours are not true. There is no deadline.”
Speaking to F1 TV Peter Bayer said:
“Tricky as start in terms of race results but amazing start as a team member, simply cause he has been helping us to find weaknesses in the car. Especially when it comes to setup, the relation between aero balance and technical balance where he was very helpful. Ultimately Yuki is actually benefitting from that. But also at the same time, you see the speed Daniel has, he has been doing really well.”
“He just needs to put that lap back together. And we above all as a team need to help him and not mess up the pitstop as we did in Jeddah and sending him out in full traffic. It’s so tight in the mid field now that if you end up in that traffic, thats it. So its down to us to give him a car to deliver.”
Lawson was seen taking a dig at Yuki Tsunoda on Drive to Survive after he was not granted a seat, a driver he had beaten. However, the show has often been a catalyst in polarising fanbases and has never been an accurate representation of facts. The speculated theory is a result of the suggestion that the New Zealander has been backed by Marko as compared to Ricciardo who has been backed by Horner. But the reality might be contradictory.
On the other hand, the Austrian veteran was quite happy with the 34-year-old driver in the preseason test and Bahrain GP. Two races of a struggle have led to enormous speculation surrounding the RB driver, who has played an integral role in developing the VCARB01 and leading the team. RB CEO Peter Bayer had suggested it was down to the team to provide Daniel Ricciardo with a car good enough to deliver results.
Red Bull advisor refrains from criticizing Daniel Ricciardo after the Australian GP
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was asked about the form of Daniel Ricciardo after the Australian GP by Sky Sports Germany. In an unusual moment, the Austrian veteran who has been the biggest critic of the 34-year-old refrained from criticizing him. He suggested that the former Red Bull driver needed a car that gave him the confidence to deliver results. He hoped RB could provide him with a car capable of doing so.
Speaking to Sky Sports Germany about Daniel Ricciardo, Marko said:
“He’s struggling, we’ll have to see. There were some good signs in the Bahrain test, but the last few races haven’t been going too well.”
“I think Ricciardo needs a safe and confident car. I hope the team can give him that so that he can at least be on par with Yuki.”
Until the Bahrain GP, Daniel Ricciardo seemed comfortable to deliver strong lap times. The gap between him and Tsunoda is approximately two-tenths of a second, which can be attributed to track sequencing, driveability of the car, or even setup. However, two-tenths of a second in a tight midfield can result in a couple of places on the grid.
As skeptics believe that the former McLaren driver might be past his prime, the reality remains that he could beat the Japanese driver with an injured hand and was even close to Max Verstappen in Mexico and the Silverstone test in 2023. As it stands, three difficult weekends make the season start for Daniel Ricciardo slower than usual and he remains in the hunt for his first points finish in 2024.
