Red Bull warned against keeping Daniel Ricciardo with ‘not a good signal’ if he stays

Red Bull have a scenario in which at least five drivers are looking to drive within their four seats next season, and one Formula 1 journalist believes having Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB next season would “not be a good signal” for their junior drivers.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has spoken this year about looking to return the sister team to its junior roots if possible, though Ricciardo has seen the path to the ‘senior’ Red Bull team shut with Sergio Perez having signed a two-year contract extension – though his form has seen that place alongside Max Verstappen brought under scrutiny in recent months.

Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB in F1 2025 ‘not a good signal’ for Red Bull juniors

As it stands, Perez and Ricciardo are due to remain in place beyond the summer break after team principal Christian Horner affirmed Perez would keep his drive with Red Bull, despite widespread reports that he may be replaced by the Australian after a run of underperformance.

What this has done, in turn, is create a scenario in which Ricciardo’s place at VCARB may be under threat itself, with Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson waiting in the wings, as well as Red Bull’s teenage talent Isack Hadjar currently leading the Formula 2 standings.

With Yuki Tsunoda already having signed a new deal with the team for next year, and Lawson’s option with Red Bull understood by PlanetF1.com to expire in September before he is allowed to explore other options on the grid, this leaves a window of a few weeks in which the young driver can secure a seat contractually within the Red Bull stable.

For Dutch reporter Erik van Haren, he said that with Red Bull looking to maintain its second team as a junior team, and Ricciardo’s experience on the grid, it would “not be a good signal” to have a multiple Grand Prix winner maintaining his place at a team at which he served in his junior days.

“It’s interesting to see with Checo, because if you count all the drivers you have one too many and Helmut Marko said already that they have to make a decision with Liam in September, because I think there’s something in his contract that if he doesn’t know anything about his future, he can go free after the year,” Van Haren explained on the F1 Nation podcast.

“But I think he deserves a seat. VCARB is a development team, a young driver team, and Yuki has been there for four years now as well.

“Daniel, of course, is a very experienced driver and in the whole talent group they have some talented drivers in the pool as well in Formula 2 and Formula 3.

“It will not be a good signal if again you go on with Yuki and with Daniel in that team. I think Liam deserves a chance as well.”

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When asked if the option to loan Lawson out for a year to potentially bring him back into the Red Bull fold could be a viable option for the team, that would be a difficult decision for the team also.

“It depends,” Van Haren responded.

“If Perez is performing like this for the next couple of months, I think Red Bull cannot hold it for another year. I don’t know exactly what the clauses are.

“And then it depends. If Daniel is doing a great job for the next couple of months, you can promote him again.

“And if he’s not, and you want to stick with Daniel, then I think you should put Liam next to Max Verstappen because I think he deserves it.

“Of course, it was only four or five races, but he showed his talent last year and it’s not a good signal again to have someone on the bench for that many years.

“If the team is performing well, if all the four drivers are performing on the maximum, there’s no point of discussion, but that’s not the case of course.

“So it’s really difficult to tell the younger drivers: ‘OK, you have to wait still.’”

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