Daniel Ricciardo told to ‘be honest’ and quit F1 with ‘ideal’ new role suggested

Former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo should retire from racing and take up a new role as an F1 television pundit and commentator.

That is the belief of Dutch analyst Tom Coronel, who has urged Ricciardo to “be honest” with himself and accept that he has “no business” being at Red Bull junior team VCARB .

Daniel Ricciardo told to retire from F1 in brutal takedown

Having lost his McLaren drive at the end of the 2022 season, Ricciardo returned to a race seat with VCARB (then AlphaTauri) in July 2023 after a short spell as Red Bull’s reserve driver.

The Australian has largely struggled since his comeback, registering just four points finish in 22 races – including three in the last six prior to F1’s summer break.

Ricciardo’s future came under scrutiny ahead of June’s Austrian Grand Prix as Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko revealed the company’s shareholders are keen to see VCARB return to its Toro Rosso roots as a team to train young drivers.

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The 35-year-old then emerged as a candidate to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing after the summer break, before team principal Christian Horner confirmed Perez and Ricciardo will remain in place entering the second half of the season.

It remains to be seen whether the situation will be revisited as the final 10 races of F1 2024 unfold, with a final decision on Perez and Ricciardo to be decided ahead of 2025.

Coronel has given Ricciardo a lowly 4.6 out of 10 rating for his performances so far this season, having been outqualified by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda at nine of the 14 rounds to date.

And he says the time has come for Ricciardo to move into the commentary box, having struggled to recapture his best form since leaving Red Bull for Renault at the end of 2018.

He told Formule1.nl : “A few years ago, when Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull and went for the money at Renault, I already knew it.

“He chose the dough and not his racing heart.

“It’s a nice story, the Ricciardo 2.0 who has learnt from his mistakes – blah, blah, blah – but he just doesn’t get it anymore.

“He didn’t succeed at McLaren, he didn’t succeed at AlphaTauri and he’s never going to succeed again. Be honest with yourself.

“He is an ideal motorsport co-commentator or analyst. He is funny, has flair and can handle anything well.

“Go and enjoy that, but stop doing Formula 1. And at a training team, he has no business at all anyway.

“Formula 1 is the class for the world’s top-20 drivers and he hasn’t been part of that for a long time.”

Coronel’s comments come after Ricciardo became embroiled in a war of words with Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend in June.

In a rare appearance as a Sky F1 pundit in Montreal, Villeneuve claimed that Ricciardo’s “image has kept in F1 more than his actual results” and claimed the Perth-born driver has been struggling “for the last five years.”

Ricciardo responded by telling Villeneuve to “eat s***” before suggesting the Canadian had “hit his head a few times” playing ice hockey, with Villeneuve affronted by Ricciardo’s “personal” reaction and doubling down on his remarks.

Red Bull’s roster of junior drivers, including reserve driver Liam Lawson and F2 championship leader Isack Hadjar, could complicate the team’s decision on Ricciardo’s future.

Lawson impressed while standing in for an injured Ricciardo across five races in mid-2023, but found himself overlooked for a full-time drive for F1 2024.

Marko revealed earlier this year that a clause in Lawson’s contract will allow the New Zealander, who has attracted interest from Audi, to cut ties with Red Bull entirely if he is not promoted to a permanent seat for next season.

PlanetF1.com understands that Red Bull’s option on Lawson expires next month, with a decision likely to be communicated within the next few weeks.

Hadjar, meanwhile, has emerged as a serious contender for an F1 promotion having established a 36-point lead in the prestigious F2 (formerly GP2) feeder series, previously won by the likes of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

Marko recently hinted that the French-Algerian will have a role within Red Bull’s F1 operation in 2025, potentially taking on Lawson’s reserve driver duties.

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