Daniel Ricciardo has brushed aside suggestions that he could be replaced at Red Bull's sister team, Visa Cash App RB, before the end of the current Formula 1 season.
With nine remaining in the campaign, including this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, the Australian driver remains confident about his place in the team, despite not yet securing a race deal for next year.
However, given Ricciardo’s persistent run of unremarkable results, the eight-time Grand Prix winner is still lingering in the danger zone in the view of many.
But he remains optimistic about his chances of retaining his race seat with RB until Abu Dhabi.
“Look, I say yes,” he said, speaking to the media at Monza on Thursday. "I've been in this for long enough... who knows?
“But I'll keep going back… I will keep making it about me in the sense that, if I'm performing, they won't find a reason to do anything. And ultimately that's where I'll leave it."
Regarding 2025, last week Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko stated that Lawson is guaranteed a seat next season. But Red Bull team principal Christian Horner immediately played down those claims.
Ricciardo, for his part, remains unfazed by the talk surrounding Lawson’s future and insists that Marko’s comments have not added any extra pressure on him.
“I think I’m probably used to it,” Ricciardo said regarding Marko’s words. “But honestly, this [the media] is a lot of the time where I hear it.
“So when you’re young, you’re always a bit more curious,” he said. “So what do people think of me or say?
“But at some point, you realise that maybe now the weekends are getting busier.”
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Ricciardo further elaborated that he has not felt any undue pressure from the team despite the ongoing speculation.
“Honestly, it’s like I haven’t had any, let’s say, unreasonable pressure,” he added.
“I haven’t had the hand on the shoulder pull me in the room and say, ‘hey, do this or else’. But look, I also know that I know what’s required.
“So maybe this tough talk doesn’t need to be had because, again, I’ve known Helmut a long time in the system. So we all know what’s required.”
Reflecting on his relationship with Marko, Ricciardo stressed that any public statements made by the Red Bull advisor may not necessarily reflect the reality of their professional relationship.
“Has he been putting extra pressure on me or being unreasonable or unfair in anything? No, not at all”, commented Ricciardo.
“So I think probably what is being put out, maybe what he says in the media or something is a bit more heightened, but I don’t feel anything additional from him.”
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