The ‘very clear’ job offer Christian Horner has made to Daniel Ricciardo

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Daniel Ricciardo has lost his Formula 1 drive for the second time in less than two years. It will almost certainly mark the end of his career in the sport.

At the end of 2022, McLaren decided to axe the Australian. Lando Norris had brutally outperformed him, and the team were ready to pay him off to make a change with one year of his contract still remaining.

Compatriot Oscar Piastri succeeded him in what was a moment of circularity. Ricciardo had risen to prominence in F1 after replacing Mark Webber at Red Bull.

Haas made an offer to Ricciardo, but he didn’t want to return simply for the sake of it. He may have viewed Guenther Steiner’s squad as a team with little upward mobility.

He did remain within the sport, however, by accepting Christian Horner’s offer to become Red Bull’s reserve driver. This involved extensive commercial commitments.

Yet when Nyck de Vries’ position alongside Yuki Tsunoda became untenable, Ricciardo was at the front of the queue. He stunned the team with his performance in a test at Silverstone.

AlphaTauri (now RB) were a midfield team just like Haas. But crucially, he knew that a return to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen was on the table if he shone.

Daniel Ricciardo can take up ambassador role at Red Bull, Christian Horner says

Ricciardo knew that Sergio Perez was underperforming at the top team, but he was never able to put together the kind of run that made him a viable alternative. And he could only justify his place in a nominal junior team by doing so.

It became inevitable that Liam Lawson would step in. At 22, Lawson should only get better, while his predecessor increasingly looked to be past his best.

Ricciardo has already rejected another reserve driver role, but Horner is hopeful of keeping him in a different capacity. He has the chance to become an ambassador for the brand.

“We’ve made it very clear that we want him to remain in an ambassadorial capacity with the team,” he told the F1 Nation podcast.

Why Christian Horner is refusing to rule out Formula 1 return for Daniel Ricciardo

Horner has dangled an incentive in front of Ricciardo as he tries to convince him to say yes. Whether it’s realistic is up for debate.

If Lawson and Perez both struggle for the remainder of the year or in 2025, Horner says Ricciardo could return. He’ll have to overcome likely opposition from Helmut Marko, who may prefer youngsters like Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad.

Indeed, the team may now look to revive their identity. They’ve shopped outside their driver pool in recent years but it hasn’t solved their problems, which is why neither of their line-ups for next year are confirmed in October.

Lawson says he’s fighting for a 2025 RB seat, rather than looking at Red Bull. But if he can outperform Yuki Tsunoda, it may be enough to trigger yet another driver change, this time at Perez’s expense.