Red Bull bigwig reveals why Daniel Ricciardo was snubbed for Sergio Perez

Red Bull boss Helmut Marko has revealed the one reason Daniel Ricciardo was snubbed by the team he won seven Grands Prix with.

The old adage is that money makes the world go round, and in no sport is it more true than Formula One.

The most glamorous motorsport circus on earth comes with eye-watering sums attached to it, with drivers often making their way into the sport almost purely off the back of the size of their parents’ bank accounts.

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With Formula One teams becoming bigger and bigger commercial enterprises, the idea of “pay drivers” has slowly begun to die off as teams become less reliant on the financial power that drivers bring with personal sponsors.

But there are a few that remain in the sport, including Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who has spent his entire career with the strong backing of Mexican telecommunications giant Telmex.

Perez, the most successful Mexican driver in the history of the sport, has been with the company since the tender age of 10, and now their financial might can be revealed as the reason why Perez secured a spot ahead of Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo before the 2021 season.

Ricciardo had left French team Renault in search of greener pastures, while Perez was forced out of then-Racing Point after a major investment from Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, who brought in four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel alongside his son, Lance Stroll.

Daniel Ricciardo might have been royally stitched up. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

With Red Bull contending with a revolving door of second drivers who couldn’t pass muster next to Max Verstappen, the team looked to experience in Perez and Ricciardo.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, speaking to the Inside Line F1 podcast, said that Perez and Ricciardo were pitted against each other in a test at the Estoril racetrack in Portugal.

“With Sergio Perez, we had a selection day, I think at Estoril,” Marko told the podcast, discussing various driver selection decisions he has had in his 18-year tenure at Red Bull.

“Where we was – I think together with (Daniel) Ricciardo also, we had a close look at him, and interestingly, on the qualifying lap, he was down, but in race performance he was good.

“But at that time he had already a lot of backing from his Mexican supporters, he had a lot of funding fortunately.”

It betrays that raw pace is not the only thing Formula One teams look at when it comes to signing a driver, and in this case, it may have been the reason that Ricciardo would end up spending two miserable years with McLaren.

Marko went on to say that team management were split over the signing of AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries, which itself may see another racing lifeline for Ricciardo.

Marko admitted that team principal Christian Horner “was not a fan” of the signing of de Vries, who joined AlphaTauri for the 2023 season ahead of experienced candidates like Ricciardo.

Since then, however, the 28-year-old has been consistently second-best to teammate Yuki Tsunoda this season, and made a variety of high-profile errors.

Perez’ (right) sizeable Mexican backing would prove to be decisive in Red Bull’s decision. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

AlphaTauri denied reports earlier this year that de Vries was threatened with losing his seat if he did not improve his performances by June, in favour of Ricciardo, with the team telling ESPN that Ricciardo’s seat fitting at the team’s Faenza headquarters was not indicative of preparations for a race seat.

“The last one where I would say (he disagreed with Christian Horner), Nyck de Vries,” Marko said.

“And at the moment it looks like he (Horner) is right.

“It’s AlphaTauri (not Red Bull), but as we are a big family I would say we are at least getting opinions.

“And he was not so big a fan of Nyck de Vries.”

It comes amid swirling rumours regarding Ricciardo’s future in the sport, with the Australian set to get behind the wheel of the all-conquering RB19 at Silverstone.

Marko, a former F1 driver himself, has left the door open for Ricciardo. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images )

Marko confirmed that Red Bull would “evaluate” Ricciardo’s pace, as they look to “keep options open for the succession” of current number two driver Sergio Perez.

“We will have Ricciardo in the car for three days after Silverstone at the tyre test and then you can evaluate where Ricciardo really stands,” he said.

The Silverstone test has been locked in for a long time, with Ricciardo previously saying he saw it as an opportunity to remind the grid of his abilities.

“I’ve been in the simulator, but I will drive the RB19 (for the first time) in July after the Silverstone race,” Ricciardo told ESPN earlier in the year.

“Then maybe I’ll get another one after Monza as well in September.

“I’m certainly excited to drive a fast car, but also a car that maybe still feels familiar to me – it does a little bit in the sim.

“But I’m just excited to drive again and to just try to remind a team obviously I once had a lot of success with that I can still turn a fast lap.”