Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has ruled out the possibility of Daniel Ricciardo racing for the side next year, citing that he isn’t currently in its plans for 2024.
The Australian returned to Red Bull in the capacity of its reserve driver after being dumped by McLaren last year following two tumultuous seasons with the Woking squad.
Ricciardo will get the opportunity to drive Red Bull’s dominant 2023 Formula 1 car – the RB19 – for the first time this week in a tyre test for Pirelli at Silverstone.
Having been impressed by his progress in the team’s simulator back in Milton Keynes, Horner is excited to gauge the level Ricciardo is at back in the confines of a racing car.
“It’s an important test for Pirelli but it’s also going to be great seeing him where he’s at,” Horner said.
“Both on pace and mentally, physically and to get his feedback on this car as well.
“So I think it’s a good opportunity for him to get back behind a wheel of a car that’s just won the British Grand Prix.”
Ricciardo, who departed Red Bull for pastures new at the conclusion of 2018, expressed recently that completing a return to the F1 grid with the Austrian outfit would mark a “fairytale” ending to his F1 career.
The eight-time F1 winner’s comments have come in the midst of an alarming slump in form for Sergio Perez, which has seen him fail to progress to Q3 in the past five rounds.
But when asked if he could foresee Ricciardo partnering Verstappen at Red Bull next year, Horner replied: “It’s not something that we’re planning, that’s for certain.”
“It was right to give him the opportunity this year to remain within the team and keep him around the sport. I think it would have been a loss to the sport just to see him disappear.
“I didn’t recognise the Daniel of the last couple of years, so I’ll be very interested to see what kind of job he does on Tuesday.”
While Verstappen sauntered to a sixth successive victory on Sunday at Silverstone, Perez has only scored a solitary podium since the Dutchman began his current winning run in Miami in May.
The gap between the two Red Bull drivers in the championship now stands at 99 points, meaning Verstappen can afford to come second in every race and still take the title.
After Perez declared he wasn’t concerned about rumours surrounding his future, Horner has supported the 33-year-old and believes he will overcome his struggles soon.
“He just needs to break it now,” Horner said when questioned about what Perez must do to escape his recent rut. “He’ll do it in Budapest, I’m confident.
“The way he races. Some of his moves, the one on Carlos Sainz in particular was quite stunning into Stowe. If you look at his pace in the last stint, he was right there.
“It’s frustrating for him that he has to fight back all the time but he’s just got to sort his qualifying out on Saturday and as a team we will do our best to support him on that.”
He added: “As in all sport, 90 percent of it is in the head and I think he just needs a good run and he’ll find his momentum again.”
