The hidden Daniel Ricciardo helmet message Will Buxton has ‘suddenly’ noticed after Red Bull axe

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In the aftermath of Daniel Ricciardo being axed by Red Bull in favour of Liam Lawson, it was revealed that the Australian could have lost his drive a lot earlier.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that after Ricciardo had a ‘disastrous’ outing at the Miami Grand Prix, in which he finished fourth in the Sprint but then 15th in the Grand Prix after a poor qualifying.

The inconsistent performance prompted Helmut Marko to call for Ricciardo to be replaced internally as early as the Spanish GP, amid growing pressure on him to improve his results.

Around that time Ricciardo used a special helmet design that had a message inscribed on the back that might have been in response to Marko’s concerns off track according to journalist Will Buxton on X (formerly Twitter).

Will Buxton unearths Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘Not without a fight’ helmet at Spanish GP

It is not uncommon for drivers to have special helmets for races, particularly if they are home events are races they have been successful at previously.

In the case of Ricciardo, he adjusted his usual helmet design for the race at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in what could have been in response to Marko wanting to replace him midway through the season.

Buxton pointed out the helmet design which had the inscription on the back: “Not without a fight.”

The design was only used at that race, with him subsequently reverting to his regular design for the following races.

Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘goodwill’ with Red Bull lost in crash

Ricciardo’s comeback story was billed as a potential fairytale end to his career, as he eyed a seat back in the top team by 2026.

The Australian lost his drive at the end of the 2022 season with McLaren after a series of inconsistent results, while also being outclassed by Lando Norris.

READ MORE: The Red Bull offer Daniel Ricciardo rejected before Liam Lawson replaced him at RB

He later participated in a test for Red Bull, which prompted Horner to see him as a replacement for the underperforming Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

The comeback was shortlived however, when the Australian sustained a crash during practice just three races in at the Dutch Grand Prix and fractured the metacarpal in his hand. It forced Ricciardo to miss the next five races and effectively killed any ‘momentum’ he had from the comeback within the Red Bull camp.