Mystery surrounds Daniel Ricciardo’s Silverstone test with potential F1 2023 seat up for grabs

Michelle Foster 08 Jul 2023 5:45 AM

Daniel Ricciardo back in Red Bull colours. New York. February 2023

Helmut Marko kept his cards close to his chest when asked if Daniel Ricciardo’s performance in his upcoming tyre test could be the deciding factor in whether or not to continue with Nyck de Vries.

Signed to AlphaTauri after a stellar points-scoring debut at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, De Vries has found it tougher to adapt to Formula 1 than anyone – even he – imagined.

The 28-year-old has yet to get off the mark with his best result a P12 at the Monaco Grand Prix, with his Japanese team-mate beating him in seven of nine qualifying sessions and races.

Crucial tyre test for Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries

It had Marko saying earlier this season that the former Formula E champion was on a “yellow card”, one that has yet to be rescinded with pressure mounting on the driver’s shoulders.

这引起了人们的猜测,应该Ricciardo,putting in his first laps in the RB19 in the wake of the British Grand Prix, show that he’s regained his lost form, Red Bull could swap out the drivers.

Marko refused to commit when asked about that.

“Now is the time to celebrate the successes of Red Bull Racing,” he told Motorsport.com before adding: “No, no specific timeframe has been set.

“As you know, there are a lot of changes going on at AlphaTauri right now. We’re sorting everything out now and when the time comes, we’ll make a decision.”

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Pressed as to whether Red Bull’s decision could hinge on Ricciardo’s performance in the tyre test, Marko replied: “I can’t say more than this. As I said just now, we will look at everything and then make a decision.”

Glimmer of hope for Nyck de Vries

Having recently revealed that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was opposed to signing De Vries, Marko confirmed it was his call to put the Dutchman in the car.

当时他还说,他现在感觉也许何珥ner was right.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the 28-year-old as Marko believes he put in a better performance in Austrian even though he was down in 17th to Tsunoda’s P19.

“Well, I’ve actually been mostly busy looking at the lap times of the Red Bull drivers,” he admitted, “so I have to look even more precisely how and what, although I do think this is one of the better rankings he has achieved.”