Where Is Daniel Ricciardo Off To Now?
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From the outside, Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career has been hanging by a thread for a few years. In true honey badger style, he has fought his way through and clung on to a place in the sport. Since leaving Red Bull at the end of the 2018 season it has been somewhat of a topsy-turvy ride for Ricciardo in F1.
When looking at the results only it may look like his stint at Renault was unsuccessful when compared to his time at Red Bull, but it isn’t always that simple in motorsports. Given the performance of the car he was driving, he performed amazingly at the Renault team which is highlighted by his two podium finishes in the 2021 season. Ricciardo is also responsible for scoring the most points of any Renault driver since they re-entered the sport as a constructor in 2016.
New fans to F1 may wonder why he is still able to hang around, but they may not realise just how good he was behind the wheel of the Red Bull car prior to 2019. Red Bull also have first-hand knowledge and data of this, so this is why they have thrown him a career lifeline. This is also while he is still featuring relatively prominently in this year’s F1 driver market discussions.
It is clear that a potential retirement from F1 is looming large, so what options does Ricciardo have going forward to remain on the grid? There’s actually more than you might realise…
STAY PUT
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Looking over the last five seasons the RB team has had three different names; Toro Rosso, Alpha Tauri, and RB Visa Cashapp. To me this looks like Red Bull really aren’t sure what they want to do with this team as the name changes highlight indecision from within Red Bull. This is further exemplified by the fact that in recent weeks Helmut Marko has come out and said that tis team will return to junior status, but prior to the season they made quite a fuss about it no longer being just a junior team.
Nevertheless I think it is unlikely that Red Bull will keep Daniel Ricciardo at the RB team going forwards. During his short stint in F1 last season Liam Lawson proved that he is more than up to the task of delivering in F1, so it is in Red Bulls best interest to hold onto him if they can.
MOVE TO RED BULL
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For now Red Bull have temporarily silenced the fans and media by confirming that Sergio Perez is remaining for the rest of the season. This silence will not last though as it just makes no sense for Red Bull to continue with Perez if his performances do not improve from here. Such is the state of his performances that it could very well cost them first and even second place in the constructors championship for this season.
The quickest solution for Red Bull would be to move Ricciardo up to Red Bull, thus also paving the way for Liam Lawson to return to F1 with RB. There’s no guarantee that Ricciardo would perform better than Perez when compared to Vertsappen, but what works in Ricciardo’s favour is the fact that it is a familiar environment. The fact that the environment and car is familiar also means that Ricciardo should be able to be on the pace more quickly than a younger driver in the team. Also Red Bull have nothing to lose because if Ricciardo cannot perform better than Perez, then they will be no worse off. If he can manage much better performances then its a win for them.
OTHER OPTIONS
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The F1 silly season went into overdrive this year with the announcement of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari for 2025. The months that followed saw a flurry of action in the driver market as there was more open seats at one time than we have seen in a while. Haas and Williams have now filled their seats for next year, but this still leaves Mercedes, Alpine and Sauber as alternate options for Ricciardo.
Mercedes
The fact that Mercedes are yet to name their Hamilton replacement is quite telling. With much of the silly season now settled it means Mercedes are now quite late to the party when it comes to choosing their 2025 lineup. Since the start of the season F2 driver Kimi Antonelli has been rumoured to be Hamilton’s replacement for the 2025 F1 season. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has publicly stated that Antonelli may also benefit from some extra time in F2 before making the step up to F1.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the door is wide open for Ricciardo here, but it is definitely ajar. Multiple race winners are often hard to come by on the driver market and there are currently two available for 2025 in Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo. Should Mercedes not want a young driver and not want to go back to a driver they have had previously, then Ricciardo could make another sensational switch. Outside the Red Bull family this option is what I believe is the most likely to happen.
Sauber
As most F1 fans probably know, the Sauber F1 has been purchased by Audi and they will make their F1 World Championship debut in 2026. The last time we saw the four-circle badge in F1 was in the pre world championship era of the 1930s, so this is an exciting addition to the series. The German manufacturer very smartly swooped on German driver Nico Hulkenberg to fill one of their seats. Audi also has a significant presence in China, and one of the few western car manufacturers that have a manufacturing plant within the country. This means it could also make sense to keep Zhou Guanyu as a driver to represent the brand to one of its biggest markets.
Should they decide not to sign Zhou Guanyu then Audi’s options are similar to what I mentioned above for Mercedes. If Audi is looking to make a statement and really stamp its authority in F1 then either Bottas or Ricciardo paid with Hulkenberg shows that they are here to win. Audi can definitely afford an experienced race winner, but it makes more sense to pair a younger driver to lead the team forward long term.
WHEN WILL WE FIND OUT?
Most driver decisions for the following season are made around or shortly after the summer break, so I believe that an announcement on where Ricciardo will be is coming before the end of the month. This years F1 silly season has thrown up some real curveballs and because of that it is only fitting that Daniel Ricciardo makes a move to Mercedes. The likelihood may not seem too high, but at this time last year did we think Lewis Hamilton would end up at Ferrari?
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