Christian Horner makes another Daniel Ricciardo admission after Red Bull axe

Christian Horner has said he’d love to have seen Daniel Ricciardo “complete his story” after securing an F1 return in 2023. Having parted ways with McLaren after 2022, Ricciardo’s career looked in danger of being over – until Red Bull took a chance on him by signing him as a reserve driver for 2023 and, eventually, giving him a seat at AlphaTauri to replace the struggling Nyck de Vries.

Christian Horner: Daniel Ricciardo’s next chapter ‘wasn’t to be’
All the pieces seemed to be aligning for Ricciardo to return to the seat he vacated at the end of 2018, and slot back in beside Max Verstappen at the lead Red Bull team. But, first, Ricciardo needed to show a clean pair of heels to teammate Yuki Tsunoda – a useful barometer to see whether Ricciardo had rediscovered the speed and form that had abandoned him while at McLaren.

Horner, who previously revealed that Ricciardo was “unrecognisable” from the driver who left Red Bull in 2018 when he returned to the fold, said the fairytale ending would have been for Ricciardo to eventually get back to the form to justify slotting him in instead of Sergio Perez. But, even with Perez struggling for form for most of this year, Red Bull kept the faith with the Mexican – a decision made much easier by Ricciardo’s own sporadic performances.

As he didn’t represent a clear step forward on Perez, Ricciardo thus became in danger of losing his seat as Liam Lawson became a viable and promising option – a scenario that has now played out for the remainder of F1 2024. “Yeah, I would have loved to see him use it as a leap, as a springboard to get back to where he was to have completed the story,” Horner told the F1 Nation podcast.

“But it wasn’t to be, you know.
“Daniel’s honest about that, and he knows in his heart he gave it his best shot, and he’s had a great career. “He’s had a great run. But, unfortunately, the next chapter wasn’t to be – he’s so good in front of the camera. He’s a natural entertainer and showman. “He will be, for sure, in front of the camera at some point, and I’m sure there’ll be a documentary or something that will be fascinating.”

While Horner was honest in revealing that Ricciardo’s form wasn’t enough to get him back into the top team, the Australian will also be remembered for the qualities of his personality which he also used to influence Max Verstappen into being a more relaxed figure during his formative years in the sport. “He loved what he was doing, and he felt very honored to be a Grand Prix driver and just some of the silly stuff that he’d get up to,” Horner said. “He’s a good singer, he’s a good musician and he’s never shy to have a go.

“I think actually, Max learned a huge amount from him because, when Max came into the team, Max was very much the young pup, and I think he was a great influence on Max in learning not to take life too seriously and enjoy the moment.”