Helmut Marko has denied the information from the ‘New Zealand Herald’, according to which Red Bull had given an ultimatum to Daniel Ricciardo, who would lose his seat in the Visa Cash RB if he does not react in the next two World Cup events, in Japan and China and would be replaced by Liam Lawson starting from the Miami Grand Prix. However, it is not ruled out that the Australian pilot will eventually end up being relieved. Marko’s defense of him is, to say the least, strange.
Marko suspects that the rumors about Ricciaddo’s replacement stem from the news that Ayumu Iwasa He will drive in his place in the first free practice sessions of the Japanese GP, completing the mandatory FIA test for rookies.
However, if the Australian does not show improvement soon, he could lose his seat before the summer holidays, as happened to his predecessor Nyck de Vries, who was ‘killed’ by Marko himself after ten races last season.
The Red Bull advisor and head of its quarry is very critical of Ricciardo, who in the first three grands prix of the 2024 World Cup has failed to score points and has offered a performance well below expectations. The curious thing about the case is that Marko attributes this situation to a “mental problem” of the Australian pilot.
“Each driver sees the other’s data, so there are no secrets. Yuki (Tsunoda) and Daniel have the same car. Everything is the same. Daniel has shown in the past that he is a fast driver, so it is a mental thing. A problem mentally,” he insists.
In his opinion column in ‘De Telegraaf’, former driver Christijan Albers questions Red Bull’s selection method, not yet counting on Lawson: “I don’t understand what the fear is in this election. Let’s be honest: Lawson beat Tsunoda in those few races last year. And Tsunoda has been systematically stronger than Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo,” he noted.
“What irritates me a little is that Daniel doesn’t stop laughing and doing activities other than driving. Focus on racing. Only then can you be fun again. As a pilot, you want to hide until you’ve beaten the others, then you can start showing yourself again. With him, it’s the other way around,” she notes. “All those activities are just painful. I just don’t think it’s fair. Lawson just needs to be given a chance, and he doesn’t have it.”