Axe looms for Daniel Ricciardo after Christian Horner confirms Aussie’s future will be reviewed after GP: ‘Difficult decisions’

Australian Daniel Ricciardo could be preparing for his final Formula 1 race at the Singapore Grand Prix after a disastrous qualifying session at the Marina Bay Circuit.

The Australian’s future is uncertain, with reports claiming Singapore could be his final race as Red Bull looks to the future with Liam Lawson.

After a promising first day of practice, Ricciardo eventually qualified sixteenth for Sunday’s Grand Prix, in another disappointing performance.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner responded to speculation that it would be the Australian’s final race, stressing that the team will consider all options after the race.

“Well, look, these things are constantly being assessed,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“Clearly there’s a much bigger picture than just Daniel, as we, you know, continue to look at all of our options, you know, as we move forward.

“There’s a natural break coming up now, you know, with a gap of almost a month until the next race. So it makes sense to take stock and consider all those options for the last part of the year.”

The Australian has not had an impressive season and Horner now suggests ‘difficult decisions’ have to be made.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner hinted at ‘difficult decisions’ that had to be made

“I’m not going to get into the ins and outs of driver contracts,” Horner said. “There’s privacy between the company and the individuals.

‘But Liam, the work he did for us last year in the VCARB car was very impressive.

“We have experience with that, because Daniel was our bench in case Sergio dropped the ball. Daniel has had a reasonable season, but it has not been a great year.

“Now the question is, how good is Liam? And you know, sometimes you have to make tough decisions to get those answers.

While no decision has been made yet, some F1 fans are convinced there are clear signals in Singapore that the team has made a decision.

Formula 1 teams have been plastering advertising across the city’s MRT metro system ahead of the race weekend, and Red Bull is no exception.

Of their four drivers – main team Red Bull and sister team Visa Cash App RB – there is no sign of Ricciardo or the struggling Sergio Perez.

This is in stark contrast to Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, who are central to all marketing campaigns and are securing their future within the team.

Daniel Ricciardo faces a crucial weekend as his future outside Singapore remains uncertain

Ricciardo spoke to reporters at the circuit on Thursday and even he admitted he is not sure he will be in Texas for one of his favourite races on the calendar.

“I actually heard that I won’t be in the car for this race either, that was after Japan or something. I know how it is and how it works, and I knew that there would always be some dates and deadlines… after the summer break, or after Singapore,” he said.

‘So post-Singapore is next. But honestly, there are so many things up in the air, let’s see how the weekend goes, I’m going to give it my all. We’ll see what happens, I’ll try to get the thing on the podium, that’s my plan.

“After the decision, that’s when the decisions are made. We who know the contract, that’s where the dates fall. So after the weekend we’ll know more.”

Ricciardo is reportedly set to replace New Zealander Liam Lawson, the team’s current reserve driver, with the New Zealander set to become a permanent grid driver in 2025.

Perez’s future is also uncertain at the main team, despite his new two-year contract. The Mexican is a lot slower than world champion Max Verstappen.

It was initially thought that Ricciardo would make the switch from V-Ca-RB to Red Bull, but the most likely outcome now is that he leaves altogether.