Christian Horner offers Daniel Ricciardo new Red Bull role as shock F1 return tease sparks debate

Red Bull has made it “very clear” to Daniel Ricciardo that they want him to become an ambassador, but it was Christian Horner’s tease of an F1 return for the axed Aussie which caused confusion.

Intense speculation followed Ricciardo into and throughout the Singapore Grand Prix that this would be his final race with Red Bull junior team VCARB, and perhaps in Formula 1 for good. No confirmation arrived during the race weekend, but it came on the following Thursday, with Liam Lawson taking over Ricciardo’s seat until the end of F1 2024.

Did Christian Horner seriously tease Daniel Ricciardo F1 comeback?

PlanetF1.com reported last week that Red Bull had left the door open for Ricciardo to continue his association in another role, and Horner has now confirmed this, as the Milton Keynes-based squad look to retain the eight-time F1 race winner as an ambassador.

However, when appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, Horner had host Tom Clarkson and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill debating after he appeared to suggest that Ricciardo could yet make another F1 comeback, if Lawson or Max Verstappen’s current Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez cannot “get the job done”.

Asked how much Formula 1 will miss Ricciardo, one of its iconic personalities, Horner replied: “Hugely. I mean, Daniel is just a brilliant character. He’s a brilliant human being. He lights up a room when he walks into it, you know, he’s got that infectious smile.

“We never did manage to do a toothpaste deal with him! We tried very hard.

“But I hope he stays around the sport and we’ve made it very clear that we want him to remain in an ambassadorial capacity with the team.

“And of course, one never really knows, I mean, if Liam doesn’t get the job done, if Checo doesn’t get the job done [laughs], we know what Daniel’s capability is.

“But, I think for him, he knows, at the age that he’s at, he’s had a great career, so many memories. The most disgusting thing ever was drinking champagne out of his sweaty boot. But, you know, he made it his own, and he got some incredible people to drink the champagne from his sweaty shoe.”

After Horner had made his exit, Clarkson was left pondering whether the Red Bull boss was joking around or actually meant it on the prospect of Ricciardo returning to F1 again down the line.

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It would be his second comeback from F1 career uncertainty, Red Bull having given him a lifeline by bringing him back in 2023 after his disastrous McLaren spell, before showing him the door just over a year later.

“I mean, perhaps we should have asked him, but do you think he was being serious when he said if Liam doesn’t work out, we know what Daniel’s strengths are, strength and weaknesses?” Clarkson asked Hill, to which he replied: “You took that to mean that he’ll be back again do you think?

“That would be like a new record wouldn’t it? In and out. How many in and outs of F1 can you possibly do in one career?”

Clarkson concluded after that Hill exchange that he did not think Horner was “being serious” on that one, as Hill spoke of the difficulties for a driver to get back up to speed when returning to the F1 scene.

“I do think being out of the car for any period of time is hard,” said Hill.

“I think we’ve seen drivers who’ve been out like Kimi [Raikkonen], struggle, and also Fernando [Alonso]. It takes a while to get back up to speed again.”

Lawson will be partaking in his first F1 Grand Prix weekend in a year when he takes to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin – having debuted in a five-race stint last season while Ricciardo was out injured – as he bids to force his way into Red Bull’s F1 2025 plans, with a potential opening at either team possible.

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