Daniel Ricciardo left Helmut Marko ‘pretty p*ssed’ after order to drive test injured

Reminded of his broken wrist suffered in 2010, Daniel Ricciardo recalled how Helmut Marko was “p*ssed” after ordering him still to take part in a test, which he could not manage.

Having been a member of the Red Bull Junior Team – overseen by Marko – since 2008, Ricciardo spoke on The Red Flags podcast about this test in his junior days, which “hurt” in more ways than one it turns out.

Helmut Marko ‘pretty p*ssed’ with Daniel Ricciardo over missed test

Ricciardo’s accident at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix is well known, breaking his hand in that crash which cost him five races, but this was not the first broken bone suffered by Ricciardo in his racing career.

“Yeah, mountain biking,” Ricciardo acknowledged when his 2010 broken wrist was brought up.

The timing was far from ideal, as Ricciardo was due to take part in a pre-season testing outing, his injury not enough to be excused by Marko. But, as it quickly became apparent to Ricciardo that he was not up to driving, the phone call was made to Marko, a very awkward one at that!

“2010, wow, so that one was funny,” Ricciardo continued.

“So, Helmut Marko, yeah, that was pre-season, so there was a test a few days later.”

Asked if that was Formula 2, Ricciardo responded: “It was called World Series by Renault, so it was kind of like F2.5.

“And so I went to the test, knowing that I was not going to be able to drive. He’s like, ‘You’re flying to that test and you’re going to try and drive’.

Daniel Ricciardo F1 exit: Where did it all go wrong?

? What happened to Daniel Ricciardo? The compelling theories to explain his sharp F1 decline

? What next for Daniel Ricciardo? Seven post-Red Bull options for consideration

“So all we were delaying was the phone call to him telling him I can’t do it. So I did one lap, and I was like, impossible. So I called him, I’m like, ‘Helmut, I tried and I can’t. I’m sorry, I just can’t, I’m going to miss this test’.

“And what he said to me was, put it this way, it was along the lines of when your parents are like, ‘I’m not mad I’m disappointed’. So he said that part, and then the phone call ended. And I was like, ‘Oh man’.

“Yeah, that one hurt. He was pretty p*ssed.”

Ricciardo graduated to Formula 1 in 2011, debuting with backmarker HRT before stepping up to Toro Rosso and then Red Bull in 2014, where he raced until his 2018 exit, taking seven of his eight F1 race wins in Red Bull colours.

Following a 2023 return to the Red Bull fold, Ricciardo was shown the door from their second team – now known as VCARB – following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, marking his 257th and perhaps final grand prix start.

Read next: The ‘bizarre’ and ‘bewildering’ Red Bull situation facing Liam Lawson for F1 2025