Infuriating some fans by the decision to drop Daniel Ricciardo mid-season, and without a proper farewell, Christian Horner says in a “perfect world” Red Bull would’ve waited.
But with the bigger picture in mind, Red Bull seized the “perfect opportunity” to audition Liam Lawson.
VCARB announced four days after Singapore that Daniel Ricciardo is out
VCARB announced four days after the Singapore Grand Prix that the race had been Ricciardo’s last with the junior team as the Aussie was being replaced by reserve driver Lawson with immediate effect.
Red Bull faced a backlash as fans took to social media to decry Red Bull’s failure to give Ricciardo a proper send-off, adamant the eight-time Grand Prix deserved better.
But while they were split as to whether better meant one more race to say goodbye or allowing him to see out the season, Horner has defended the team’s decision to drop him when they did.
Asked by F1 Nation podcast host Tom Clarkson why Red Bull didn’t let Ricciardo finish the season, Horner replied: “Of course, in a perfect world, that would have been what we would have done.
“But from a broader perspective, we need answers for the bigger picture in terms of drivers. And of course, with six races remaining, it’s a perfect opportunity to line Liam up alongside Yuki to see how he performs over the remaining six Grands Prix.”
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Daniel Ricciardo’s 2023 Dutch GP crash opened the door for Liam Lawson
After parting ways with McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, Ricciardo returned to the F1 grid with Red Bull’s junior team with an eye to replacing Sergio Perez at the senior outfit.
But 14 months later, he is the one who has been left without a race seat.
It begs the question, where did it go wrong for the 35-year-old?
“That’s a tricky one,” says Horner. “I mean, Daniel, I didn’t recognise the Daniel that at the end of his tenure at McLaren, and I said to him, ‘why don’t you come and join us, rediscover your passion for the sport.
“‘We’ve got a whole bunch of sponsors and partners, and Max hates doing all that stuff. So you know, you’re going to shake a few hands and turn up to a few events, but if there’s the opportunity to stick you back in the car, you can see if you’ve still got if you rediscover your mojo’.
“He picked up some really bad habits when he came back from McLaren in the car, and got bit by bit working with his old engineering team. He started to find his form again, and then we stuck him in the car for a test at Silverstone just after the Grand Prix.
“He knew that was a big test for him, because Nick De Vries had been slightly underwhelming in the AlphaTauri at the time. And of course, we needed a back-up solution for Sergio if he weren’t to deliver.
“Daniel put in an outstanding performance at Silverstone and then based off that, we decided to put him into the AlphaTauri for the remainder of the year.”
However, a crash in Friday’s practice at the Dutch Grand Prix meant Ricciardo missed five Grands Prix with a broken hand and gave Lawson the opportunity he needed to show Red Bull what he could do in an F1 car.
“He [Ricciardo] had a great start in Hungary,” Horner continued, “but then shortly after the race broke his hand in an innocuous looking accident, but obviously the lash back on the steering wheel, it broke his hand quite badly.
“That knocked him out for four or five races, in which point we gave Liam the opportunity to step in as well. And suddenly it was like, ‘Okay, this kid can drive as well’.
“In the end, we elected [for F1 2024] to take experience over youth because the purpose of Daniel, because he wasn’t a junior driver, he was there as a backstop in the event that Sergio wasn’t finding his form.”
In a turn of events not foreseen when Ricciardo rejoined Red Bull last year, he’s the one who is out instead of Perez, and Lawson has an opportunity to cement his F1 future.
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