Ricciardo Reportedly Given Ultimatum By Marko, He Might Be Replaced By Lawson
F1Monday, 25 March 2024 at 13:30
RB driver Daniel Ricciardo has reportedly received an ultimatum from the Red Bull boss Helmut Marko following the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
The Honey Badger hasn't performed during the first two races of the season as well as his team would have expected from such an experienced driver.
Coming into Australia, he wanted to bounce back at his home race. However, it had already started terribly when he got his time deleted during the qualifying session for track limits and didn't make it out of Q1 as a result.
This wouldn't be perceived so badly if his teammate didn't do well in the RB car. But Yuki Tsunoda showed it was possible to bring the RB into Q3 as he qualified in P8.
The race at Albert Park Circuit then didn't go much better for the Australian driver. Ricciardo finished in P12, while his Japanese teammate brought home six points for P7.
Being the main candidate for the seat in Red Bull, the 34-year-old was expected to comfortably beat his less experienced teammate, but that is far from what is happening now.
Not only is Ricciardo destroying his chances for the seat in the team from Milton Keynes, but The Herald also reports he has been given an ultimatum by Helmut Marko and might even be replaced in Red Bull in three races.
"The Herald understands Ricciardo has been given an ultimatum by Red Bull’s head of driver development, Dr Helmut Marko, a known admirer of Lawson’s."
"Should Ricciardo fail to improve over the next two Grand Prix in Japan and China respectively, Red Bull will perform a swap that sees Lawson likely installed in the Racing Bulls seat for Miami and remain with the team for the rest of the season."
Liam Lawson was in Ricciardo's seat for five races during the 2023 season (when the 34-year-old was injured) and showed great potential as he outperformed Tsunoda.
What do you think? Can Ricciardo improve, or will we see the 22-year-old Kiwi behind the wheel of RB already in Miami?
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