Daniel Ricciardo makes F1 future confession as Red Bull plan for 2025

Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career could head one of two ways

Daniel Ricciardo has claimed that “nothing can really hurt me anymore” ahead of his Red Bull future being decided in the second half of F1 2024.

Ricciardo has largely struggled since returning to F1 with Red Bull junior team VCARB (then AlphaTauri) in 2023, scoring points just four times in 22 starts.

Daniel Ricciardo sees second F1 career with Red Bull as a ‘bonus’

The Australian’s early season woes alongside team-mate Yuki Tsunoda had generated speculation that Ricciardo, 35, could have been replaced before the F1 2024 season was out, with Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko revealing the firm’s shareholders are keen to see VCARB return to its Toro Rosso roots as a junior team to train young drivers.

Marko’s revelation came amid uncertainty over the future of Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, whose contract is believed to contain a clause allowing him to cut ties with the company completely if he is not promoted to a permanent seat for F1 2025.

Having appeared to be at risk of being replaced by Lawson, Ricciardo – who responded to Marko’s threat by scoring three points finishes in six races between Canada and Belgium, his most consistent run of results since his F1 comeback – then emerged as a serious candidate to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing for the rest of the season.

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However, Red Bull confirmed last week that both Ricciardo and Perez will retain their current seats entering the second half of F1 2024, which begins with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort later this month.

It is currently unclear if the subject of both Ricciardo and Perez’s futures will be revisited by Red Bull as the final 10 races of the season unfold.

Ricciardo was previously left without a seat after parting company with McLaren at the end of the 2022 season after two challenging seasons alongside Lando Norris, returning to Red Bull as the team’s reserve driver at the start of 2023.

Ahead of a pivotal final 10 races of the current season, Ricciardo has revealed that he sees his ‘second career’ as a bonus, claiming he is ready for whatever comes his way from this point.

He told Motorsport.com: “It’s not like I have an ‘I don’t care’ approach, but my perspective is that all this now is a bonus because I really thought at the end of 2022 maybe I would never race Formula 1 again.

“So to have this second chance, if there is going to be some pressure then OK, let’s take it on.

“Nothing can really hurt me anymore. I can’t control anything that’s going to happen. I can control what happens on track.

“I don’t even take it race by race. I take it session by session.”

Ricciardo’s latest comments come after he told media including PlanetF1.com at the Austrian Grand Prix that he is relaxed about his future and played down concerns that Red Bull’s decision for F1 2025 could be communicated to him too late to find a seat elsewhere.

He said: “I don’t want to be casual about it, because obviously I care a lot, but I don’t know.

“Maybe I’m at a point where it’s just like what will be will be. And I’m just going to put everything I can on the table from an effort and performance [perspective].

“And if that is good enough to secure me a seat, great. If not, then OK. I did everything I could, but…

“I think in terms of the musical chairs stuff, if I get focused on that then I’m [in trouble].I need to put all my attention here. Simple as that.”

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