Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner asserts that Daniel Ricciardo was “right” to miss last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix amid the “testing” conditions the drivers encountered.
After being dropped by McLaren at the end of last year, Ricciardo returned to a full-time Formula 1 drive midway through this year with Red Bull’s sister side, AlphaTauri.
However, the eight-time race winner has been absent from action since sustaining a break to his left hand in a crash during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend in August.
While Ricciardo embarked upon a simulator session following the Japanese Grand Prix, he elected to delay his comeback further by missing the most recent round in Qatar.
With several drivers proceeding to struggle with the extreme humidity present on Sunday at the Lusail circuit, Horner believes Ricciardo made the correct choice.
“We want to see him in full fitness,” Horner said. “I think it was right to miss the race, particularly as it turned out with the conditions that we had, it could have been very testing for him.
“So I think to have had that extra, if you like, 12 days, in the run-up to Austin is the best preparation for him.
“With Austin, it’s obviously going to be difficult for him to jump straight back into a sprint race weekend but I’m sure he’ll be physically in good shape to take that on.”
It was confirmed ahead of the Japanese GP that Ricciardo will retain his drive with AlphaTauri alongside Yuki Tsunoda for 2024.
Therefore, Horner adds that there was no rush for Ricciardo to get back behind the wheel and risk aggravating his injury.
The long-serving Red Bull chief also lavished praise on the deputing Liam Lawson, who predominantly excelled in his quintet of stand-in appearances for Ricciardo.
“Of course, he [Ricciardo] wanted to come back,” Horner admitted. But he has a contract secured for next year.
“In Liam, we’ve such a great sub, and it was also a good way of giving him another grand prix without putting unnecessary pressure on Dan and potentially causing longer-term damage. It allowed us to say ‘Look, don’t overstretch it’.”
Ricciardo has already conceded that his return to the Red Bull fray has come with the intention of earning back the seat he vacated with the senior team at the end of 2018.
The current incumbent of that position, Sergio Perez, has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons once more this season amid another disastrous showing in Qatar.
Perez failed to progress to Q3 in qualifying for the eighth time this season before inheriting three time penalties for track limit infringements, relegating him to 10th place.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has ramped up the pressure even more on the Mexican, telling Austrian outlet oe24 that he might need a “change of climate and team”.
“You must not forget: I brought Perez into the team back then,” Marko declared. “But that’s simply the fate with Verstappen that he’s suffering now. That was already the case with [Pierre] Gasly.
“From that point of view, Perez needs a change of climate and team. Now we’ll see how the next two races go. But the team and he are aware that he is in a crisis.”
