Helmut Marko believes that ‘the killer instinct was gone’ with Daniel Ricciardo after he left Red Bull in 2018. The popular Australian’s time in F1 looks to be over after his mid-season departure was confirmed on Thursday.
Ricciardo has endured a challenging season with VCARB. He started the campaign with hopes of pressuring Sergio Perez for a seat at Red Bull but found himself looking over his shoulder after scoring points in just three of the 18 races held so far in 2024.
This culminated in an early departure with Liam Lawson called in to replace Ricciardo alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the the final six races. The New Zealander impressed during stand-in performances last year after the departing driver broke his hand, and will now get another chance ahead of an anticipated full campaign in 2025.
Explaining Ricciardo’s downfall, Marko told Motorsport-Total: “Then he didn’t have a winning car at either Renault or McLaren. He did win at Monza [in 2021], but those were special circumstances.
“I don’t know what exactly happened, because if we knew, we would have helped him. But the speed and, above all, this late braking, and then he goes left or right… in these last few years he tried but it was no longer there, the killer instinct was gone.”
Ricciardo’s future seemed uncertain heading into the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The 35-year-old refused to guarantee that he was leaving, but a fastest lap attempt on his final tour, combined with some emotional post-race interviews confirmed that the writing was on the wall.
“He was informed, and the worthy farewell performance was, I think, the fastest lap,” Marko revealed. “That still showed what potential he has, not continuously and not at the level that would have justified him coming to Red Bull Racing.
“But that was an impeccable performance. I think it was clearly communicated that he has to be significantly better than Yuki Tsunoda and he only managed that in a few races, so it was clear that this story of the prodigal son rejoining Red Bull Racing unfortunately didn’t work out.
“He said very well that he is at peace with himself, and he has come to terms with the situation and we will see what his plans for the future are.”
