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Horner sets criteria for any chance of Ricciardo return to Red Bull

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has laid out the 'head-turning' requirement Daniel Ricciardo will have to meet if there is any chance of the Australian returning to the Red Bull team next year.

Ricciardo drove for the squad for five seasons before departing for a seat at Renault rather than continue as Max Verstappen's team mate. He moved to McLaren in 2021 but had a disappointing time there.

He moved to the AlphaTauri (now RB) team midway through 2022 hoping to use that as a spring board to relaunch his career with the chance of getting back into the senior Red Bull team.

However he has been struggling in the opening races of this season compared with Yuki Tsunoda. Although he's been somewhat back on form in Japan and China, his prospects of a top seat in 2025 have dwindled.

Sergio Perez is rumoured to be leaving Red Bull at the end of the year, but Ricciardo faces competition from not just Tsunoda but also Liam Lawson, the reserve driver who subbed for and injured Ricciardo five times last year.

Read also: Ricciardo happy to remain with RB as Red Bull ambitions fade

Speaking in China, Horner said that Ricciardo's future in F1 was "“pretty much in Daniel’s hands" but that he would have to do something dramatic to put himself back in the running.

“He needs to show the kind of head-turning form to make not only ourselves but potentially to make others take notice,” Horner explained.

©RedBull

“Obviously waiting in the wings is a driver with the talent of Liam Lawson who naturally is champing at the bit to get an opportunity,” Horner continued. "We keep a close eye on the drivers, we keep a close eye on their development.

"For us as a sister team, we take a close interest on those drivers," he acknowledged. "I have to say, Yuki has had a great start to the season and is driving very well.

“But there’s nothing pre-set or preordained as to when or even if that would take place," he added, insisting that no decisions had been made about who will partner Verstappen next season.

“The priority is for sure for the drivers that are in the race seats at the moment, and we’ll see how that pans out.”

Ricciardo will start next week's Grand Prix in Miami with a three place grid penalty for breaching safety car rules during the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. He subsequently retired from the race after contact with Lance Stroll.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.