Christian Horner delivers verdict on Daniel Ricciardo’s Belgian GP amid potential Red Bull promotion

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Before the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, all eyes were on the front row of the grid and one driver in particular.

Sergio Perez produced his best performance in a qualifying session in months to start alongside Charles Leclerc at Spa but did benefit from Max Verstappen receiving a ten-place penalty.

He was lucky to avoid being knocked out by Alex Albon in Q2, setting a lap three-thousandths faster than the Williams driver.

Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ended for Perez as he drifted further and further away from the leaders as the race progressed, eventually getting overtaken by his teammate and every other driver from the top four teams.

Perez crossed the line in 8^th although he eventually inherited 7^th after George Russell’s disqualification and earned the fastest lap of the race after pitting for a third time during the closing stages of the Grand Prix.

McLaren and Mercedes still closed the gap on Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship and Perez’s future is set to be discussed very soon.

If the team do decide to make a change during the summer break then they have a couple of options.

Liam Lawson is currently the team’s reserve driver and impressed when called upon in similar circumstances last season.

However, Daniel Ricciardo is expected to get the nod to replace Perez should Red Bull decide it’s time to part ways with the Mexican.

Team principal Christian Horner provided a short verdict on how Ricciardo performed during the Belgian Grand Prix, via The Athletic, as he mulls over another vital driver decision.

Ricciardo was subject to two mid-season driver swaps last year, replacing the underperforming Nyck de Vries before making way for Lawson after injuring his hand at Zandvoort.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the experienced Australian moving once again before his return to the Dutch Grand Prix.

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Christian Horner delivers succinct Daniel Ricciardo verdict after Belgian Grand Prix

Before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo admitted that he was about to enter the two most important races of his season.

Ricciardo still hasn’t signed a deal for 2025 with RB meaning he’s not only fighting for a promotion but also Formula 1 survival.

His race at the Hungaoring was ruined by a poor strategy and Ricciardo admitted it was one of the worst races of his career.

However, the Australian inherited what could be an important point at Spa after Russell was excluded from the race despite losing out to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon on fresher tyres at the end of the Grand Prix.

When speaking about the race, Horner admitted:  “I think he’s done alright. I haven’t looked at the race plot, I only saw the end result, that he was 11th [eventually 10th after Russell’s disqualification from the race].

“Starting on the soft tyre, he’s obviously driven a good race.”

It’s yet to be seen whether that will be enough to earn the Ricciardo the promotion he’s been dreaming about.

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Helmut Marko against promoting Daniel Ricciardo into the Red Bull seat

The trouble with Red Bull at the moment is they have arguably too many options and too many decision-makers.

Marko has signed a new contract with Red Bull until the end of 2026 which has its pros and cons in Horner’s eyes.

It makes it much more difficult for Verstappen to leave the team early amid interest from Mercedes but also grants Marko more power in driver decisions.

Horner and Marko have differing views on who should replace Perez with Horner wanting a reunion with his old driver.

However, Marko’s preference is with Liam Lawson as he continues to fight for the future of the team’s young drivers.

He may even have one eye on Formula 2 and the potential situation they face at the end of the year should Isack Hadjar maintain his lead in the championship and win the title.