Red Bull’s senior adviser Helmut Marko already made it clear he wasn’t impressed before this race weekend, saying Ricciardo needs to “come up with something soon”.
Now, speaking to Sky Germany ahead of Saturday’s qualifying at Albert Park, Marko doubled down on his comments, and offered a more unsettling warning.
“There’s a lot at stake for (Tsunoda and Ricciardo). Both might be hoping for a seat at Red Bull, and one should be well ahead of the other,” Marko is quoted as saying by motorsport.com.
“So far Ricciardo is a bit behind.
“But let’s put it this way: Tsunoda’s qualifying speed is okay. But in the race, both are too slow.”
Watch the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX LIVE in 4K and ad-break free during racing, Sunday 3pm AEDT. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
LIVE: All the latest updates from the Australian GP qualifying
How ‘Drive to Survive’ changed Formula 1 | 01:34
Marko added that he believed earning a point was possible for Tsunoda and Ricciardo at each of the first two races, but neither has finished higher than 13th.
“It’s very difficult to score points behind the top five and, when you have an opportunity, you can’t afford to make mistakes. You have to test the decisions in the absolute right order,” he said.
What should also concern Ricciardo is Marko’s change in tune around Red Bull incumbent Sergio Perez, who has shown signs of improvement in 2024.
While still comfortably slower than his world champion teammate Max Verstappen, the Mexican has been relatively untroubled in finishing second in both races.
“Sergio is in a very good position at the moment,” Marko said. “He has delivered two very good races and he’s second in the championship. The question of who should replace Perez doesn’t really arise.
“But it’s about the future. Perez is no longer the youngest, nor is Ricciardo.
“And if you then take other aspects into account, another driver could certainly be included in this process.”
Courtney reflects on early days in F1 | 02:38
Ricciardo was slower than Tsunoda in both of Friday’s practice sessions in Melbourne and will be hoping that overnight changes can unlock his potential for the rest of the weekend.
Speaking to foxsports.com.au earlier in the week, Ricciardo said he appreciated the brutal honesty.
“I enjoy being back in the Red Bull family because I enjoy that little bit of extra whatever it is from Helmut, where it’s like, ‘I know he’s always going to be on my arse’,” he said.
“That’s how he is. That’s fine. I’m totally okay with that.”
“I think from the outside some people are like, ‘Oh, is it panic mode? Or is it crisis mode? Or what’s going on?’,” Ricciardo added.
“Nothing’s going on. In Bahrain I didn’t do a good enough job in qualifying, so yeah, that’s on me. In Saudi we had some issues, as simple as that. That was that.
“I’m not in a state of, ‘Shit, there’s a lot of pressure on or whatever’. The pressure I put is on myself.”
#Helmut #Markos #warning #Daniel #Ricciardo #vacant #Red #Bull #seat #Sergio #Perez #future
