Helmut Marko wanted to fire Ricciardo in June

The Singapore Grand Prix was the final stage for Daniel Ricciardo as part of the RB team. However, it turned out that the Australian driver could find himself without a seat behind the wheel as early as June. Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner said Helmut was going to fire Marko Ricciardo after the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Christian Horner: “The problem was that Daniel had no stability. I mean, he started the season poorly, and the weekend in Miami can be divided into two halves. He performed fantastic on Friday and Saturday mornings. We saw old Daniel defend the Ferrari and push the car beyond its capabilities.

But Saturday and Sunday turned out to be a disaster. And already in Barcelona Helmut wanted to throw him out of the car. I’ve done everything I can to give Daniel more time. If he had not done this, he would have been left without a car immediately after the Barcelona stage.

I think all drivers are under pressure because they are expected to deliver results. The reason Daniel continued to participate was because we wanted him to get fit and come back if Sergio Perez didn’t train. But the problem was that they both had difficulties at different times. Sergio started the season very strong, while Daniel struggled.

Then Sergio lost his form and Daniel got it back, but he never reached a high enough level to ensure it was time to change drivers.”