Red Bull sister team’s boss claims the entire team took responsibility for failing Daniel Ricciardo

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies took responsibility for failing to revive Daniel Ricciardo's F1 career during his stint with the team in 2023 and 2024. The Australian driver struggled to match the expectations and was eventually replaced by Liam Lawson after the Singapore Grand Prix this year.

Ricciardo, who began his F1 career with Red Bull as a junior driver, witnessed a steep decline in his professional career after he switched teams in 2019. His stints with Renault and McLaren didn't pan out as preset expectations, forcing the Australian to return to RBR as a reserve driver in 2023.

He replaced Nyck de Vries in the sister team Racing Bulls (known as Alpha Tauri that season). However, a wrist injury forced him out for a few weeks. The 35-year-old continued as a VCARB driver in 2024, but he often finished behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the qualifying rounds.

Eventually, the Racing Bulls replaced Ricciardo with Liam Lawson after the Singapore GP, leaving him without a seat for the 2025 season. Recalling the stint, VCARB team principal Laurent Mekies took full responsibility for the driver's lack of success with the team. Speaking to Motorsport.com, the team boss stated that Ricciardo had the pace but was highly inconsistent.

"The question we have been asked the most was: 'Can Daniel Ricciardo still produce the ultimate speed we have seen?' I think he has on a few occasions. But for the team, as for the drivers, the biggest difficulty is not to be fast one day. It's to be fast in every race," Mekies said.

"Did we manage to keep Daniel in that sweet spot often enough? No, that's the reality. I raised my hand and we raised our hands as a team, because we have a big part to play in it. And this led to what happened," he added.

Liam Lawson, Ricciardo's replacement, proved himself in six races to earn a promotion to Red Bull for the 2025 F1 season, replacing veteran Mexican driver Sergio Perez.

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Christian Horner anticipates Daniel Ricciardo's potential F1 comeback

Christian Horner with Daniel Ricciardo (Image Source: Getty)

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently said that he wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Ricciardo or Sergio Perez pulled off a comeback in F1 with the Cadillac F1 team slated to debut in 2025. Speaking to Talksport, the 51-year-old opened up on the probability of Ricciardo's comeback in F1 in the near future (via racingnews365):

“I wouldn’t at all be surprised if they went for the experience of someone like Sergio if he wants to decide to continue his career in F1," Horner said.

Horner's comments come days after Ricciardo was linked to Cadillac. However, his manager reportedly squashed the rumors, saying the Australian driver has not been in contact with General Motors and has no intentions of a return to the grid in the foreseeable future.