Daniel Ricciardo ‘came back too early’ theory as Red Bull ‘wrong decision’ highlighted

Should Liam Lawson have been the one that replaced Nyck de Vries all along? Not doing that was the wrong call from Red Bull, says Guenther Steiner.

Instead, Daniel Ricciardo, who had returned to the Red Bull fold at the start of F1 2023, became that year’s mid-season replacement for the struggling De Vries at Red Bull’s second team AlphaTauri. Skip forward to F1 2024, and the Singapore Grand Prix proved to be Ricciardo’s final race – perhaps in F1 for good – as Red Bull showed him the door.

Did Daniel Ricciardo return too soon in Red Bull error?

Ricciardo was stepping back into the Red Bull ranks after a disastrous two-season spell with McLaren, which saw his deal terminated a year ahead of its expiry.

Did Ricciardo try to come back too soon after that harrowing experience?

Analysing Red Bull’s decision to drop Ricciardo from their junior team mid-season, former Haas boss and Red Bull technical operations director Steiner, in his Formula 1 website column, wrote: “Of course it’s tough on Daniel. He got a second opportunity after a difficult time at McLaren but it hasn’t worked out.

“When he left McLaren, he was not in a good state. You could see he wasn’t the real Danny. He wasn’t himself. Maybe he came back too early, expecting he can come back like Fernando Alonso did, like Kevin Magnussen did, like Nico Hulkenberg did and it’ll all work out, but it didn’t.”

Ricciardo had impressed Red Bull in a 2023 Silverstone test, that playing a key role in him getting the nod to replace De Vries.

However, with Ricciardo now himself axed, Steiner said Liam Lawson – who replaces Ricciardo as of the United States GP after stepping up from the Red Bull reserve role – could have been in the car then rather than Ricciardo. Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

“They put Daniel in instead of Nyck, but obviously it wasn’t the right choice as they took him out mid-season,” Steiner claimed. “Someone made a wrong decision there. They could have put Liam in then.

“With hindsight, you know. I’m not trying to blame someone who made a bad decision. It’s just one of those things. It’s a gut feeling. At the time I think they thought Daniel has won races and that he should have recovered from his years when he was unhappy at McLaren – but it didn’t work out like you think it works out. It’s one of those things.”

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It is yet to be determined whether Ricciardo will remain involved with Formula 1, Red Bull having made it “very clear” to the Aussie that they want him as an ambassador, while he is said to be not short of offers for media work.

But amid the uncertainty, Steiner feels Ricciardo’s absence will be felt in Formula 1.

“Ricciardo will be a loss because a lot of people got to know him, especially through Netflix’s Drive to Survive. He brought a lot of new fans to Formula 1,” Steiner wrote.

“He is a big character and a nice guy as well. Everyone got on with him. But this is Formula 1 – and this is how it is. There are only 20 spaces on the grid. You have to perform to survive.”

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