Daniel Ricciardo skips the Max Verstappen ‘diplomatic answer’ in clear Red Bull verdict

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo pictured together at the 2023 British Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo says he’s hopeful of getting a final chance to race alongside Max Verstappen before the end of his Formula 1 career.

The Australian driver is closing in on the end of his current deal with VCARB, with no contract signed for 2025, and his chances of slotting into the seat alongside Verstappen have shrunk considerably with just 10 races left this season.

Daniel Ricciardo: I know I need to earn Red Bull chance

Ricciardo had appeared to be close to being given the nod to replace Sergio Perez for the second half of the 2024 championship as the Mexican driver’s form took a significant dip throughout the second quarter of the season – a form dip that has been hugely damaging for Red Bull’s championship chances against McLaren.

But, with Ricciardo and rookie reserve driver Liam Lawson both felt to not represent a clear step above an on-form Perez, Red Bull has opted to stick with its existing driver pairing.

As Ricciardo continues to hope for a contract extension with his VCARB squad, the door of opportunity to get himself into the Red Bull alongside Verstappen is rapidly closing – and the Australian has made clear his wish to be given that opportunity before his F1 career ends.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Ricciardo was asked outright whether he’d love a last chance to race alongside Verstappen at Red Bull, having been teammates at RBR between 2016 and ’18, to which he replied: “Yeah. I’m not going to give a diplomatic answer. Of course, I would.

“I know I need to earn it. It’s not just going to be handed to me but if I earned it and the chance was there, of course, I’d love to do it. So we’ll see.”

Ricciardo’s chances likely centre on just how well Perez performs after the summer break, with Red Bull giving the Mexican the chance to impress at tracks he is known to perform well at – such as Baku and Singapore, venues he has won at over the last two years.

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While the prospect of dropping into the Red Bull still lingers, Ricciardo knows he has to perform strongly on his end – and pray for Perez to continue struggling to score points – in order to have any chance, particularly as the team’s reserve driver Liam Lawson also remains hopeful.

“Is any of it a reality? I would say no, until it is. But it can change,” he said.

“Even after Canada, and there were some things going on that weekend, and I was under some pressure, I had a good weekend.

“All of a sudden, ‘Oh yeah, he’s back’. But then if you don’t perform the next weekend, it’s back to square one. So it’s weekend by weekend at this rate. Do I want to be great every weekend? Sure.”

Recently, VCARB CEO Peter Bayer told PlanetF1.com how Ricciardo has cut out distractions from his life, such as social media apps, in order to fully focus on the improvements he needs to make off-track to bring performances on track.

Ricciardo explained to RN365 that he’s pulling out all the stops and that, even if he doesn’t get the call-up, he knows he’s given his F1 comeback his utmost effort.

“I am fully motivated, I’m fully focused,” he said.

“I appreciate that I don’t know if I’ve got one year left, five years left, so I’m treating it like it is truly my last chance.

“I don’t want to hang the helmet up and be like, damn, I should have spoken up when I should have, I should have done that differently.

“So I’m in a good place because I’m comfortable within myself and I’m comfortable with the approach I’m taking and going all in.”

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