Daniel Ricciardo is “pitching” to Red Bull that he is its best option if the team decides to part ways with Sergio Perez, says team principal Christian Horner.
Ricciardo is making a swift return to Formula 1 after being loaned by Red Bull to sister outfit AlphaTauri for the rest of the season following Nyck de Vries’ dismissal.
The eight-time grand prix winner will make his first appearance since Abu Dhabi last year at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, re-joining AlphaTauri who he drove for when it was Toro Rosso in 2012 and 2013.
Following his and McLaren’s split at the end of 2022, Ricciardo returned to Red Bull as its third driver after turning down offers to drive less competitive machinery.
But while AlphaTauri, who sits bottom of the constructors’ championship, goes against Ricciardo’s previous comments, according to Horner he sees this as his best chance to make a case for a future Red Bull seat.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Horner said: “There’s no thoughts or expectations beyond that.
“We’ve loaned him to AlphaTauri to the end of the year. Obviously, our drivers are going to be Max and Checo again next year, but it’s always good to have talent in reserve.
“I think [the way] Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri, he firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull.
“That’s his golden objective. And by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025.”
Horner has stressed that both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are contracted at Red Bull for next year after Perez’s recent slump in form prompted speculation that his place at the team could be under threat.
There is a clear desire from Red Bull to honour Perez’s contract, and Horner said it will do everything to help him turn around his recent run of failing to make Q3 at the last five races.
“Some of that has been bad luck, some of it’s been a little self-inflicted,” Horner said.
“We’re just trying to help him through that period. He’s still second in the world championship. He’s won two grands prix so far out of the 10 this year, and he started the season in such great form.
“We just want to help him rediscover that form.”
Horner expects Ricciardo to deliver to a certain standard despite the fact he is jumping into a back marker car, but when considering him as De Vries’ replacement, Red Bull needed to be sure he was up for the challenge.
“First of all, it had to be clear, did he want to do it?” he said.
“Stepping into an AlphaTauri is very different to driving a Red Bull car. And it will certainly have its challenges.
“The thing that we needed to be sure is was he up for that challenge, scrapping to get out of Q1?
“And he seemed more than happy to go back into that situation to get back on the grid and be a Formula 1 driver again.”
He added: “[In] the junior team, there are very high expectations, but Daniel isn’t a junior driver.
“He’s already proven himself in the time that he’s had with us.
“And therefore, it was just trying to make sure he rediscovered the form that we knew he was capable of.
