Daniel Ricciardo Let’s Slip Plans of Red Bull Exit for a Team “Further Up”

Daniel Ricciardo has always had his eye out for his old seat at Red Bull, and after almost losing his spot on the grid, the Racing Bull’s seat is sufficing. However, so far, Daniel Ricciardo is not up to speed with his car. There have been complaints from the driver’s side as Ricciardo has been facing problems with the sensitive breaks, leaving him pointless for the first 4 races of the season.

Ricciardo needs to buck up and everyone knows that, including his team boss, Peter Bayer. Despite his performance, Bayer remains supportive of the Australian driver and is pushing him to start scoring points for himself and the team. With the way the situation currently is, Daniel Ricciardo came forth to talk about what he wants from his Formula 1 career in 2025 and Red Bull is not in the plan.

Daniel Ricciardo happy with Racing Bulls

Ricciardo holds a one-year contract with RB, where he’s essentially on loan from Red Bull Racing. While talking to Speedcafe, Ricciardo was asked about his plans for the future to which he revealed that he would like to stick with the Racing Bulls. “As I feel today, yes, I’m enjoying the driving now; it’s not so much result-driven.” For now, the priority for Daniel Ricciardo is to get back his mojo which he seems to have lost.

The Australian driver is currently struggling with his car, as he has not yet adjusted to the setup. One of the main issues he is facing is the sensitive breaks that he needs to get used to. Daniel Ricciardo is struggling to produce the kind of outputs that his teammate is putting out and this looks like a repeat of how things were for him at McLaren. The Honey Badger is still not confident in his car and the Racing Bulls team is supporting him by working with him to tune the car to his liking. However, in the end the Red Bull sister team was never the goal and Ricciardo is preparing himself for the real deal.

While his final goal is to get back to Oracle Red Bull, he wants to be prepared for it. Stating, “Obviously, I don’t want to just be here to be here; I want to earn that seat and the team is hopefully further up,” he explains that he wants to earn the seat, and for that, he is ready to put the work in. So ultimately he cleared the doubts about where he wants to be in 2025 saying, “So yeah, I guess it goes both ways. I mean, the answer is yes.” 

“But is it more fun fighting at the front? Is it more fun fighting for podiums and wins? Absolutely,” said Ricciardo explaining how the struggle is fun for him as compared to being given a comfortable situation. Ricciardo is known for his wide smile but the recent seasons have wiped it away, that being said this season is where he needs to pull up his socks and perform. Originally planned as the lead driver, he is lagging behind Yuki Tsunoda in points. This makes him look like a lesser viable option in case Red Bull plans on getting rid of Sergio Perez.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has always supported Daniel Ricciardo and here is what he had to say about Yuki Tsunoda and the Australian.

Christian Horner on Yuki Tsunoda Vs Daniel Ricciardo

Horner acknowledges that the performance battle between Ricciardo and Tsunoda at Red Bull’s sister team, RB, has been heavily one-sided so far. Ricciardo has yet to score a single point, with his Japanese Grand Prix ending disastrously after a collision with Alex Albon. In contrast, Tsunoda has been impressive, earning points for the team, notably finishing seventh at the Australian Grand Prix and scoring a point at Suzuka.

Horner commends Tsunoda’s performance at Suzuka, where he secured a point for the team, highlighting its significance for Honda and the VCARB team. Despite Ricciardo’s struggles, Horner expresses support and confidence in the Australian driver’s ability to bounce back saying, “Daniel’s a big boy, he’s been around the block and he knows how things work and I think he just needs to get a good result in the bag and then the smile will return. His team-mate is delivering and that naturally puts pressure on, but he’s been there before.”

With this Horner instills some confidence in Ricciardo hoping for a better future in the upcoming races. That being said, do you think Daniel Ricciardo will be able to finish higher than his teammate in the driver’s championship? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.