Daniel Ricciardo has been brought back down to Earth with a brutal reality check from a Red Bull head honcho.
Ricciardo is eyeing off a potential return to the grid in 2024 after taking a year off following his nightmare end to his time at McLaren.
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The noise surrounding a potential Ricciardo return to a front of the grid team grew when a Lewis Hamilton bombshell hit the paddock.
The seven-time world champion was linked with a shock move to join Ferrari on an eye-watering $75m deal.
If it eventuates the move would cause a major shake up of the grid and could see Ricciardo potentially partner up with George Russell at Mercedes.
But the Perth native has been dealt a brutal blow by Red Bull development boss Helmut Marko who said the Aussie’s pace doesn’t match the two current drivers for the team.
After returning to Red Bull ahead of the 2023 season rumours swirled Ricciardo could replace Sergio Perez as fractures emerged between him and Max Verstappen.
Marko, however, says the 33-year-old hasn’t found the pace that made him an eight time Grand Prix winner.
“He is not at the level of Verstappen and Perez [on the simulator],” Marko said in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com.
The remarks are far from ideal, but won’t stop Ricciardo from chasing a return to the grid. A move he says will only come if he lands with a frontrunner.
“His goal is to get back into a top team,” said Marko. “Those were his statements. And I think this break from active sport is good for him so that he can find himself and know where he really wants to go.”
Marko’s remarks all but shut down a recent rumour that sent the F1 world into a frenzy with Ricciardo linked to AlphaTauri and replacing rookie Nyck De Vries who has struggled in his debut season.
Multiple reports indicated De Vries had been given an ultimatum to improve by June or face the chop from the team.
“AlphaTauri is AlphaTauri. And Red Bull Racing is Red Bull Racing. Whether you drive in midfield or whether you drive at the front, that’s a completely different pressure, a completely different climate. […] We know his qualities.
“Then came the Renault era. Then McLaren came and there was a slump. That wasn’t the Ricciardo we knew.”
Ricciardo’s hopes of returning to the grid have been reignited since being back in the Red Bull garage as a reserve driver, but it hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from speculating about his future.
In a recent interview with ESPN he dropped arguably the biggest hint as to which team he wants to be driving for when his time comes around again.
“I’ve been in the simulator, but I will drive the RB19 (for the first time) in July after the Silverstone race,” Ricciardo told ESPN.
“Then maybe I’ll get another one after Monza as well in September.
“I’m certainly excited to drive a fast car, but also a car that maybe still feels familiar to me – it does a little bit in the sim.
“But I’m just excited to drive again and to just try to remind a team obviously I once had a lot of success with that I can still turn a fast lap.”
