Daniel Ricciardo shares the moment when he really disappointed Red Bull chief Helmut Marko

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Daniel Ricciardo has had a very successful career in Formula 1 spanning more than a decade and rewarding him with a handful of race wins.

However, things haven’t always been straightforward for Daniel Ricciardo especially as the internal politics at Red Bull rarely stay within the team itself.

Ricciardo first joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2007 after his second season racing in Europe.

Four years later, he was parachuted into the ultimately doomed HRT team as a replacement for Narain Karthikeyan.

The following year Ricciardo was handed a seat at Toro Rosso and it wasn’t long until he was leading the senior Red Bull team, finishing ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the 2014 Drivers’ Championship.

Ricciardo eventually moved on and after spells with Renault and McLaren was brought back into the Red Bull fold by Christian Horner and Helmut Marko at the beginning of 2023 as a reserve driver.

It wasn’t long before he replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri and is now fighting to keep his seat at Visa Cash App RB after an underwhelming start to 2024.

Ricciardo was speaking on The Red Flags Podcast and reflecting on his journey to Formula 1.

The Australian spent years working with up the ranks as part of the Red Bull setup which meant having plenty of interaction with Helmut Marko whose job is to look after the team’s young drivers.

He’s now recounted one experience before he stepped up to Formula 1 where he left Marko very disappointed during a testing event.

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Daniel Ricciardo recalls disappointing Red Bull chief Helmut Marko

Ricciardo talked about an occasion when he broke his wrist mountain biking before a key Red Bull junior test in 2010 and said: “Helmut Marko, in pre-season, there was a test a few days later.

“I was in World Series by Renault, so it was sort of F2.5. So I went to the test knowing I was not going to be able to drive.

“He’s like, ‘You’re flying to that test and you’re going to try and drive’, so all I was delaying was the phone call to him that I can’t do it.

“So, I did one lap and it was impossible, so I called him and I’m like, ‘Helmut, I tried but I can’t, I’m sorry I just can’t, I’m going to miss this test.’

“And what he said to me was, putting this way, it was along the lines of when your parents are like, I’m not mad I’m disappointed.

“So, he said that part and then the phone call ended and I was like, ‘Oh man’, that one hurt.

“He didn’t go nuts, but that one sucked.”

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Daniel Ricciardo once again needs to win over Red Bull after tough 2024 season

Helmut Marko might be more disappointed in Daniel Ricciardo now than he was after his mountain biking incident.

It’s telling that Ricciardo is the only one of Red Bull’s four contracted drivers without a contract for 2025.

Sergio Perez’s deal looks to be at serious risk even if it was only signed last month, but Ricciardo’s recent form doesn’t make him an obvious candidate to replace the Mexican.

Marko said recently, via Kleine Zeitung, that Red Bull’s shareholders want to see the V-CARB team once again used to develop young drivers.

That suggests Ricciardo’s time with the team is limited as Liam Lawson looks like a strong candidate to earn a full-time seat in one of Red Bull’s two teams.

Ricciardo could potentially be in negotiations with one team that still have a vacant seat for 2025.

However, Ricciardo’s chances of remaining with Red Bull beyond this year appear to be dwindling.