Red Bull make decision on Daniel Ricciardo’s immediate future ahead of the summer break

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Daniel Ricciardo has found himself in a truly remarkable situation of late. He’s simultaneously been fighting for his job and trying to earn a promotion.

Red Bull have already triggered the option to extend Yuki Tsunoda’s contract by a further year. But teammate Ricciardo has yet to fully convince.

He has shown flashes of the driver who looked like world champion material in the past. Indeed, he’s responsible for RB’s best qualifying result (P5 in Canada) and race showing (P4 in the Miami Sprint) this year.

Tsunoda hasn’t had such spectacular moments but he has been much more consistent. Seven top-10 finishes in 13 races have earned him 22 points, exactly double Ricciardo’s tally.

Reserve driver Liam Lawson has been applying intense pressure virtually since the season started. Lawson impressed in a five-race stint last year after Ricciardo broke his wrist.

All the while, Red Bull have yet to definitively rule out re-hiring the Australian if they decide to axe Sergio Perez this summer. Christian Horner seems to vividly remember his seven Grand Prix victories during his first stint at Milton Keynes.

Daniel Ricciardo no longer at risk of losing RB seat

While Red Bull haven’t made a decision on the struggling Perez just yet, they do seem to have committed to keep Ricciardo for the remainder of the season. One source has told ESPN that he ‘no longer’ faces the threat of losing his drive this summer.

Instead, he can focus on making his case to Horner and the rest of the Red Bull leadership. The team principal is ‘particularly fond’ of him but he could ‘lose face behind the scenes’ if the move backfires.

Some long-term Red Bull employees believe that Ricciardo has lost something since his first spell with the team. McLaren sacked him at the end of the 2022 season before Horner gave him a lifeline.

It’s previously been claimed that Lawson will be on the grid in some capacity at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August. If RB are sticking with what they have, the New Zealander could now be in line to partner Max Verstappen.

Why 2026 F1 rule changes could hurt Ricciardo

Giedo van der Garde has previously urged Ricciardo to leave F1 at the end of the year. If Red Bull pass him up, then it may indicate that he no longer has any upward mobility in the sport.

The prospect of multiple years at RB might not be inviting. As a junior team, they have an inherently low ceiling.

While the likes of Aston Martin, Sauber/Audi and perhaps Alpine will be hopeful of making a leap from the midfield come the 2026 regulation changes, RB are likely to stay broadly where they are. The team was conceived as a short-term stop on the way to Red Bull.

What’s more, David Coulthard points out that the new cars may not suit Ricciardo. He’s a driver who’s known for his late braking manoeuvres, but with shorter stopping distances forecast, those moves will be a lot more difficult to pull off.