Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed that advisor Helmut Marko wanted to see Daniel Ricciardo lose his Formula 1 place at RB around the Spanish Grand Prix.
RB announced last week that Ricciardo will not complete the remaining six rounds this season as Liam Lawson will be granted the chance to prove his worth instead.
Ricciardo’s change in demeanour over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend indicated that he was aware his time was up as he admitted it could have been his last race.
The Australian experienced an inconsistent campaign as he lied 10 points behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who also emerged as the higher RB qualifier at 12 rounds.
Horner has divulged that Marko, who guaranteed earlier this season that Lawson would be given a spot on the grid, was angling to make the switch back in late June.
“I think it was the lack of consistency,” Horner told the F1 Nation podcast.
“I mean, he started the season roughly, and then Miami was a weekend of two halves.
“The Friday and Saturday morning was fantastic, and it looked like the Daniel of old, defending against Ferraris and out-driving the car.
“But then the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday were disastrous. And even around Barcelona, Helmut wanted him out of the car.”
Horner brought Ricciardo time at RB
Horner, though, managed to ensure that Ricciardo was handed more time with Red Bull‘s sister squad to stake his claim to earn a return to a seat with the parent side.
But although Sergio Perez’s wretched season has placed his position under doubt, Horner has conceded that Ricciardo’s results weren’t good enough to merit a swap.
“I’ve done my very best to buy him as much time in the car to allow him to deliver, otherwise he would have been out of the car after Barcelona,” he added.
“I think that all the drivers are under pressure to deliver.
“But the reason that Daniel was in that car was to get himself back into a position to ultimately be there to pick up the pieces if Checo didn’t deliver.
“And the problem was they both had issues with form at varying times. Checo started the season very well, very strongly, and Daniel was struggling.
“And then obviously, as Checo lost form, Daniel found a bit of form, but it was never compelling enough to say, ‘Okay, you know, we should switch the two drivers.'”
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