After only 3 race weekends, all odds are stacked against Daniel Ricciardo. Many have questioned his worthiness to occupy the Visa Cash App RB seat. Red Bull Advisor Helmut Marko even called him “too slow” after the Saudi Arabian GP. At such a make-or-break junction, Marko has doubled down on doubting Ricciardo’s strange drop in form.

At Silverstone, in 2023, the Honey Badger got in the RB19 to put a quick lap around the track in practice. His lap time was good enough to secure P2 for the British GP if he had a seat. Though he couldn’t compete then, it was this lap that got him the Visa Cash App RB (then AlphaTauri) seat. But the promise that he showed then hasn’t translated into results in 2024. He has been outclassed by his much-junior teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Consequently, Helmut Marko, who is responsible for the driver talent within the Red Bull teams has been left baffled. “We are puzzled,” Marko told Austria’s LOALA1, as quoted by Formule1.nl. “He is generally slower than Yuki. Something isn’t right with him. That is surprising because the winter test went very well for him. But right now Yuki is clearly faster.”

“For comparison, you should have a different driver,” he explained. “Because the question is: has Tsunoda become that good, or is Daniel that bad? After three races on three completely different circuits, there is still no objective answer.” (Translated via Edge) This could be a hint to Liam Lawson being that reference point.

The stress of performing well is definitely getting to Ricciardo. While this comparison with Yuki Tsunoda continues, Lawson has been patiently waiting in the wings for his well-deserved F1 seat.

Daniel Ricciardo under threat as Former F1 driver highlights Liam Lawson’s ‘unfair’ sidelining

In 2023, Liam Lawson got a 5-race opportunity to prove his mettle after Daniel Ricciardo fractured his hand. In that short period, he extracted more from the AT04 than Ricciardo or Tsunoda had done. The New Zealand racer even score 2 points for AlphaTauri with his P9 finish in Singapore. This makes Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believe that Ricciardo’s time is up.

“Let’s be honest: Lawson beat Yuki Tsunoda in those few races. And Tsunoda has consistently been stronger than Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo,” Albers said in a De Telegraaf podcast, as quoted by Fox Sports. “I don’t see this going well with Ricciardo. He just doesn’t have it anymore. You have a Lawson, who has performed fantastically. He just needs to be given a chance, and he doesn’t get one. The whole purpose of the team is to train and promote young talent.”

Read More: Japanese GP 2024: New Upgrades for RB May Bring Pace Improvement for Struggling Daniel Ricciardo

Will Helmut Marko eventually decide to let Ricciardo go to make way for Lawson? The 2024 summer break could be the spiciest of silly seasons we’ve seen.