Daniel Ricciardo is a driver in danger of losing his seat at the end of the season and one journalist has suggested he could be out before Silverstone.
The Australian returned to F1 in 2023 with Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB) but struggled to find the form that led him to eight career wins. F1 headlines: Horner concedes Red Bull penalty as F1 champion suffers concussion in Austria
Ricciardo just had a tough RB team, beaten in the main of teammate Yuki Tsunoda, a Japanese pilot, regularly won points.
Tsunoda is committed to the team for next season, while speculation has grown that Ricciardo could be out of the sport due to recent performances.
Yuki Tsunoda signed by VCARB for next season
Does Buxton claim Silverstone could ditch Ricciardo
Mid-season driver changes at Red Bull have been a regular occurrence over the years; the latter was the return of Ricciardo, who replaced the sacked Nyck de Vries after only ten races. Even Max Verstappen initially moved to the main team through an in-season driver change when he replaced Daniil Kvyat after just four races in 2016.
Now Ricciardo risks losing his place again. Recent comments from Red Bull boss Helmut Marko have suggested that Liam Lawson, who temporarily replaced Ricciardo last season after suffering a wrist injury, could be given a chance at RB. Speaking on F1’s Weekend Warm Up YouTube channel, reporter Will Buxton suggested the Aussie could even lose his place in the team over the weekend in Austria. Buxton said: “One driver who, as we understand it, in the next race [is Daniel Ricciardo]. He’s celebrating his 250th Grand Prix this weekend. Words from Helmut Marko this week – V-CARB is a junior team. Daniel Ricciardo is no longer a young man.
RB have not yet confirmed their driver line-up for next season, but based on Buxton’s comments, Ricciardo could leave the team sooner than expected. GPFans has contacted VCARB for comment..
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