- Helmut Marko defended Red Bull’s decision to fire Daniel Ricciardo
- The Australian had been fired from the F1 team after the Singapore Grand Prix.
- Marko had insisted the 35-year-old had “lost his killer instinct”.
Helmut Marko has defended Red Bull’s handling of Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from the Formula One team, insisting the Australian driver “lost his killer instinct” and was no longer as daring as he used to be on the track.
Ricciardo was shown the door after the Singapore Grand Prix, with Red Bull advisor Marko believing the 35-year-old no longer displayed the strength and cunning he had once displayed during his racing career. pilot.
The West Australian initially left Red Bull in 2018 and opted for a move to Renault, before joining McLaren four years later.
After a disappointing spell with the British racing team, Ricciardo’s contract was mutually terminated before he was offered a lifeline in F1 at Red Bull Racing. The charismatic driver would return to his former team as a reserve driver before taking Nyck de Vries’ seat at AlphaTauri in 2023.
During his time with the Italian racing team, Ricciardo’s best result came at the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix, where he placed seventh.
However, it seems that Marko only saw two driving performances from Ricciardo that seemed worthy of that retirement. The adviser insisted the Australian was not the same driver who had once displayed “uncompromising overtaking” and “last-minute braking” during his previous spell with the F1 team.
“Daniel Ricciardo’s departure was announced after the race weekend in Singapore for compelling reasons related to commercial agreements,” Marko wrote in his column for speed week.
“He himself was informed in time and, in his own words, he is at peace with himself. I also think that the fastest lap he set was a worthy farewell.
‘He was given a second chance that no one else would have given him. ‘And this was done under the premise that a return to Red Bull Racing is possible if their performance is up to par. Therefore, the Racing Bulls team was only intended as a stopover.’
Ricciardo’s best result during the 2024 season came in Canada, where he finished eighth in the standings.
Earlier in the season, Ricciardo had also placed fourth in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race. But his performances were not enough to impress the Red Bull boss.
‘The necessary performance only came twice, once with a fourth place finish in the Miami sprint this year and last year in Mexico.
“But other than that, the speed wasn’t there and the consistency wasn’t there either. All the performance that would have justified a promotion to Red Bull Racing was missing. But that was the purpose of the whole thing.
‘If we knew why performance wasn’t up to par then we would have done everything we could to change that.
‘But (Ricciardo’s) same killer instinct was simply no longer recognisable. He was famous for his uncompromising overtaking, for braking at the last point. But that was no longer the case either.”
The eight-time F1 race winner was replaced by 22-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson for the remainder of the F1 season.
‘I have loved this sport all my life. “It’s wild and wonderful and it’s been a ride,” Ricciardo, who enjoyed a 14-year career on the top driving circuit, said in an emotional Instagram post.
‘To the teams and individuals who have contributed, thank you. To the fans who sometimes love the sport more than me haha, thank you. It will always have its ups and downs, but it’s been fun and, to be honest, I wouldn’t change it.
“Until the next adventure.”
