Daniel Ricciardo 'set to be sacked' as Red Bull officials reportedly make brutal F1 decision

Daniel Ricciardo's time at RB is reportedly coming to the end after a tough season upon his return to the F1 as boss Helmut Marko hinted Liam Lawson needs to be promoted to a drivers seat soon. Ricciardo's rollercoaster performances with RB racing could be coming to an end after his latest 15th position at the Spanish GP.

The Aussie is out of contract at the end of the year and has been consistently beaten by Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) teammate Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver finishing ahead of Ricciardo in five of eight races this season. Ricciardo was able to build on a very slow qualifying round in Spain and move from his starting position in 18th to 15th on the weekend.

This saw him finish in front of Tsunoda, but this does not appear to be enough to save his role. Ricciardo has only finished in the points twice since joining RB in 17 appearances. And Marko's latest comments could see Ricciardo looking for a new team.

Ricciardo broke his hand in just his third race after returning to RB, which allowed youngster Lawson a chance to prove himself across five appearances in the F1. Lawson impressed fans and the team, but found himself out of a role when the 34-year-old Ricciardo returned.

Recently, RB said Tsunoda would remain with the team next year. This leaves Lawson seeking the position Ricciardo holds in 2025. And speaking to Austrian publication Kleine Zuitung about the future of RB, Marko claimed there is pressure to get Lawson in a seat sooner rather than later.

“The shareholders have made it known that [RB] is a junior team and we have to act accordingly,” Marko told the publication. Ricciardo is 34 years old and having not performed to the standard RB had wished, could be facing being replaced by Lawson. “The goal was that [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull Racing with exceptional performances,” Marko added.

“That seat now belongs to Sergio Pérez, so that plan is no longer valid. We have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson.” The timeline for Lawson to enter the RB team may have been accelerated after he was linked with rival teams.

Daniel Ricciardo laments Spanish GP struggles

Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda struggled in Barcelona with the team's failures continuing in 2024. And team boss Laurent Mekies delivered a blunt assessment of the nightmare weekend post-race. “We came here with high hopes for the upgrades that everyone back in the factory has worked so hard to design and produce as part of our aggressive development strategy,” Mekies said.

“Unfortunately, right from the start of Free Practice we were lacking pace in every session. There is no point denying this was a poor weekend for us and although the gaps were very small, there’s no excuses for the fact we just weren’t competitive.”

Earlier this week Ricciardo said the weight of his contract situation hanging over his head has been "very taxing" as his future on the grid beyond this year remains unclear. Speculation was mounting ahead of the 2024 season that Ricciardo would replace Perez next year, however, on the back of the Aussie's below-par campaign, the champion team decided to stick with their Mexican star and instead are deciding if there is a place in the team at all for Ricciardo.