“I’ll leave everything on the table”: Daniel Ricciardo addresses F1 future amid Liam Lawson speculation
Daniel Ricciardo recently opened up about his future amid talks about Liam Lawson replacing him at VCARB. The Australian driver indicated in a recent interview that he would prefer to not go down without a fight, even if he had to make way for Lawson.
Ricciardo's future at RB is currently in jeopardy as the Honey Badger seemingly failed to impress the top brass at Red Bull. Helmut Marko's recent statement on a possible driver change added fuel to the fire.
Marko, the advisor to Red Bull Racing and its sister team, RB, recently revealed that Lawson could be the driver of choice if the stakeholders of the team decide to go for the young New Zealander over the veteran Aussie (via Kleine Zeitung):
"The goal [for Ricciardo] was to qualify for Red Bull with exceptional performances, but that seat now belongs to Sergio Perez. That plan is no longer going to happen, and we will soon have to put in a young driver. That will be Liam Lawson," Marko said. (translated from German)
Responding to this, Ricciardo said (via Racingnews365.com):
"I know that I can obviously produce some good stuff, and I know that this stuff is what Red Bull want to see, [which is] at the end of the day, performance. Either that is going to keep me in the sport or not keep me in the sport. So it's up to me I guess - just more right pedal, less left."
"You don't go down without a fight. I'll leave everything on the table. If it's good enough, it's good enough. If it isn't, then at least I went down swinging," he added.
The Honey Badger's performance of late has been far from eye-catching. Even though he managed to score points in two of the last three races (Canada and Austria), that did not put him on the pedestal ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who already bagged his contract extension earlier this season.
Where does Daniel Ricciardo stand in 2024?
After the end of 11 races, Daniel Ricciardo stands at P13 in the Drivers' Championship. He has 11 points to his name, compared to his teammate Tsunoda's 19.
Ricciardo's best race finish this season was at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where he claimed P8. Together with his teammate, he helped RB occupy P6 in the Constructors' Championship.
All in all, chatter in the paddock suggests that Daniel Ricciardo is expected to keep his seat till the end of this year, as RB would not sack him mid-season, something they did with Nyck de Vries.