F1 fans campaign to ‘bring back Daniel Ricciardo’ amid Red Bull crisis
Formula 1 fans are mounting a campaign to revive Daniel Ricciardo’s career as Red Bull seeks an answer to their deepening crisis.
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Sergio Perez’s demise has F1 fans dreaming of a Daniel Ricciardo comeback as the axe hovers over Red Bull’s No. 2 driver.
Perez hit a fresh low on Monday (AEDT) when he finished 17th at his home race in Mexico, the last car home of those that finished the race.
The Red Bull team has already showed Ricciardo the door this season and Perez appears certain to join him, judging by comments from team principal Christian Horner and senior adviser Helmut Marko.
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Asked if the man known as “Checo” will finish the season after the dismal result in Mexico City, Horner replied: “Look, it’s a performance-based business. There comes a point in time that difficult decisions have to be made.”
The Milton Keynes-based outfit has spent the entire season waiting and hoping for a turnaround from their No. 2 man.
Instead, Verstappen (362 points) has fought a lone battle out in front, still ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris (315 points) atop the standings, despite a sixth-placed finish to the Brit’s second on Monday.
Kiwi Liam Lawson has inherited Ricciardo’s seat at the back-up VCARB outfit, alongside fellow young gun Yuki Tsunoda.
Checo and Lawson had two key duels during the racing, with the Mexican calling Lawson an “idiot” at one stage, complaining about debris left on the track by the New Zealander.
Lawson flipped the bird back at the home favourite in a spicy emerging rivalry.
Lawson later apologised while explaining the reason for his cheeky rude gesture.
“He spent half the lap blocking me, trying to ruin my race, so I was upset,” Lawson said.
“But it’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have done it and I apologise for that.
“It’s not in my character and I shouldn’t have done it.”
Footage has surfaced on social media of Lawson patiently waiting in Red Bull’s hospitality area for Horner to complete an interview before the team principal walks over to him, presumably to scold him for the skirmish with Perez.
There are four races left this season and speculation is mounting Red Bull will replace Perez, despite the Mexican having two years left on his contract.
Horner has recently named Red Bull juniors Isack Hadjar as Arvid Lindblad as future F1 drivers, but it remains to be seen if they will get a drive this season.
Spectators at Mexico and the US Grand Prix in Texas were spotted in the grandstands holding signs with messages of support for Ricciardo, including one that read: “Came to see Danny Ric where’s my refund.”
After Perez’s performance in Mexico, F1 fans remained convinced the door isn’t closed on a Ricciardo comeback.
Fox Sports host Niko Pajarillo posted on X: “I’m sorry. There is NO WAY you’re telling me Daniel Ricciardo wouldn’t do a better job in this Red Bull than Checo. This is astonishing.”
Journalist Dan Ripley wrote for GPFans: “Whatever nonsense is going on with Sergio Perez at Red Bull, it needs to end and it needs to end now.
“It’s one thing to be out of form and off the pace of Max Verstappen, but it’s quite another to be dropping clangers every other week to the point that even the basics are becoming a troublesome task for the Mexican.
“Not only is it time to promote Liam Lawson to Red Bull for an end-of-season feeler for 2025, but it’s also time to bring back Daniel Ricciardo at RB.”
One fan wrote: “Red Bull didn’t kill off Daniel Ricciardo for Lawson to accept Perez’s mediocrity.”
A second said: “And the winner of this weekend is Daniel Ricciardo.”
A third said: “Every day I ask myself why it was Daniel Ricciardo that they kicked out in the middle of the season … while everyone else stayed.”
Another quipped: “Before Daniel left the Red Bull family, he must have put a spell on them or something because what is happening lmao.”
All signs point to Ricciardo sailing off into the sunset. The 35-year-old poked fun at his retired status and looked happy as can be in recent social media posts.
Potential cameos in NASCAR or Australia’s Supercars could also be on the cards for the Australian in the future.
Perez blew up at Lawson after the race, suggesting the New Zealander isn’t made for F1.
“I think the way he has come to Formula 1, I don’t think he has the right attitude for it,” he declared.
“He needs to be a bit more humble, you know.
“It’s like when you come to Formula 1, you’re obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be as well respectful off-track and on-track.
“I don’t think he’s showing the right attitude to show a good pace for himself, because I think he’s a great driver and I hope for him that he can step back and learn from it.”
Horner suggested the team may soon have no choice but to move on from Perez.
“We’re now third in the constructors championship,” Horner said.
“He (Perez) knows Formula 1 is a results-based business, and you know, inevitably, when you’re not delivering, then the spotlight is firmly on.
“When anyone is underperforming, there is always going to be scrutiny on that. You know, as a team, we need to have both (drivers) scoring points.
“We’re working with him as hard as we can to try and support him.
“We’ve done everything that we can to support Checo, but there comes a point in time that you can only do so much.”
“This has been a complicated weekend,” Perez said.
“I always say it’s my dream to win the grand prix in Mexico and I’ll try again next year. After all of the support from all of these fans, it’s incredible.
“They have given me so much, it’s all worth it for them. We’ll try again for them next year stronger.”
Originally published as F1 fans campaign to ‘bring back Daniel Ricciardo’ amid Red Bull crisis
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