Daniel Ricciardo has been offered a new role at Red Bull, just days after the he was dropped for the remainder of the F1 campaign.
It was confirmed last week that Ricciardo would be replaced by New Zealand-born driver Liam Lawson in the Visa Cash App RB team for the remaining races of 2024.
The 35-year-old, who achieved eight wins, three pole positions, 17 fastest laps and 32 podiums during his career, is unlikely to return to the F1 grid, according to widespread reports.
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But the Australian has been offered an ambassadorial role with Red Bull, according to Christian Horner, who opened up on his exit during an appearance on the F1 Nation podcast.
When asked how much Formula 1 will miss Ricciardo, Horner said: “Hugely. I mean, Daniel is just a brilliant character. He’s a brilliant human being. He lights up a room when he walks into it, you know, he’s got that infectious smile."
Horner added: “We never did manage to do a toothpaste deal with him! We tried very hard.
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“But I hope he stays around the sport and we’ve made it very clear that we want him to remain in an ambassadorial capacity with the team.
“And of course, one never really knows, I mean, if Liam doesn’t get the job done, if Checo doesn’t get the job done [laughs], we know what Daniel’s capability is.
“But, I think for him, he knows, at the age that he’s at, he’s had a great career, so many memories. The most disgusting thing ever was drinking champagne out of his sweaty boot. But, you know, he made it his own, and he got some incredible people to drink the champagne from his sweaty shoe.”
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Horner also gave an insight into the decision behind replacing Ricciardo with Lawson.
“In a perfect world, that [letting Ricciardo see out the season] would have been what we would have done,” he explained. “But from a broader perspective, we need answers for the bigger picture in terms of drivers.
“It’s the perfect opportunity to line Liam up alongside Yuki [Tsunoda], to see how he performs over the remaining six grands prix.”
Despite both Ricciardo and Red Bull insisting the decision to release Ricciardo was made after the Singapore GP, Lawson has revealed he knew about the driver change well in advance.
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"It had been the plan for a long time now where this is where it was leading at least," Lawson explained.
"Obviously I had a contract date that needed to be fulfilled so basically it was going towards this way, and then a couple of weeks ago they told me what was going to happen. And then basically not long after that, it was set in stone."
Topics: Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing
Jack Kenmare