Daniel Ricciardo addresses Red Bull snub with ‘not awesome enough’ admission

Daniel Ricciardo, the RB driver, is aspiring to remain on the grid for the year 2025.

Overlooked by Red Bull for F1 2025 and beyond, Daniel Ricciardo admits that his season has not been up to the level he wants.

Despite experiencing a challenging period in the previous few rounds, Sergio Perez received a significant uplift ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Red Bull confirmed his stay with the team until the end of 2026 by signing a new multi-year contract, providing him with a much-needed boost.

Daniel Ricciardo not surprised by Sergio Perez Red Bull deal

Heading into the F1 2024 campaign, Ricciardo was seen as a major threat to Perez’s position at Red Bull, having returned to the fold last year initially as a reserve driver, before being sent to their junior team mid-season as a replacement for Nyck de Vries.

However, Ricciardo’s lackluster performance in F1 2024, with only five points compared to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda’s 19, hasn’t surprised him that Red Bull chose to retain Perez as Max Verstappen’s team-mate.

Ricciardo hasn’t given up on his ambition to return to the primary Red Bull team at some point, however, he concedes that his season has not been particularly impressive.

“Ricciardo expressed to Sky F1 that he was not surprised about Perez’s new Red Bull deal,”

“It doesn’t really alter anything for me. No doubt, my aim is to eventually return to Red Bull. However, I am aware that my season hasn’t been exceptional. I had a remarkable moment in Miami, but beyond that, my performance has been somewhat inconsistent.”

Look, I’ve been at this for a while and I know that I want to improve myself.

“From the onset of the first few races, I was highly focused on maximizing my potential. This, I believe, will grant me the most control over my future.”

“Indeed, until now, I may not have been sufficiently impressive, but I am content being here and returning to the Red Bull family.”

“So we’ll continue to push ahead, and just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it never will. We’ll see.”

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Ricciardo’s attention is now centered on maintaining his position at RB for F1 2025. His chances appear promising, as CEO Peter Bayer has assured that the team is “very happy” with the Ricciardo and Tsunoda duo.

“He said, “I believe we’re very satisfied with both of our drivers.”

Truthfully, we aren’t spending time dwelling on uncertainties. Our team is incredibly strong, with an excellent reserve driver in Liam Lawson. We also have fantastic talent coming up from F2 and F3.

Ricciardo is hopeful for a better performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, a race he was victorious in back in 2014.

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