Horner: Marko wanted Ricciardo out around Barcelona

Daniel Ricciardo earned himself a route back into Formula 1 after a mid-season test at the Silverstone Circuit last year. Horner brought the Honey Badger in to replace the underperforming Nyck de Vries at the then-named AlphaTauri part way through the 2023 season.

However, and despite doing well in the test, the Australian's F1 return didn't quite go as hoped. Once touted to replace the under-fire Sergio Perez at Red Bull, Ricciardo instead found himself struggling to get the most out of his car and paling in comparison to RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

The 35-year-old was unceremoniously replaced following the conclusion of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix by Liam Lawson, who will contest the final six Grands Prix of the campaign for the Faenza-based outfit.

While Horner believed that Ricciardo could find form and show exactly why he is an eight-time race winner right to the bitter end, Senior Advisor Marko was always trying to promote younger drivers from the Red Bull Academy to a full-time F1 seat.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Horner revealed the significant efforts he went through to keep Ricciardo in F1, perhaps against the wishes of other Red Bull members.

Horner claimed that by the Spanish Grand Prix over three months ago, Marko was trying to get rid of Ricciardo. He said: "He [Ricciardo] started the season roughly, and then Miami was a weekend of two halves. The Friday and Saturday morning was fantastic, and it looked like the Daniel of old defending against the Ferraris and outdriving the car.

"But then the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday were disastrous. So even around Barcelona, Helmut wanted him out of the car, and there was already a lot of pressure on him there," stated Horner.

Ricciardo's form went up and down throughout 2024, which bought the Australian driver some time but ultimately sealed his premature exit from F1. Horner continued: "By the time we got to Montreal, it was actually dear old Jacques Villeneuve who got him properly wound up by giving him a hard time.

"It definitely fired him up, because the way he drove the car that weekend, he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and put together a very strong race weekend.

"So I did say: give Jacques a call every time every Grand Prix, for the rest of the year, because whatever he said, it definitely worked."

Ricciardo's time at RB was supposed to be a preparatory step on his way to a seat at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, but his inconsistency as well as pressure from Marko prevented the move from ever materialising.

Horner stated: "I've done my very best to buy him as much time in the car to allow him to deliver. Otherwise he would have been out of the car after Barcelona.

"All the drivers are under pressure to deliver, but the reason that Daniel was in that car was to get himself back into a position to ultimately be there to pick up the pieces if Checo didn't deliver. Daniel found a bit of form. But it was never compelling enough to say, ‘okay, we should switch the two drivers'," concluded the Red Bull boss.

Disagreements between Horner and Marko have ramped up in 2024, and the former's recent comments perhaps indicate that intra-team tensions are still high at Red Bull. Cracks widened significantly after Horner was accused of misconduct by a Red Bull employee earlier this year; although the case was ultimately dismissed the likes of Verstappen's father Jos have continued to launch scathing attacks towards the Team Principal, with Marko a known ally of the Verstappens.

Meanwhile, Chief Technology Officer Adrian Newey and several other high-profile figures have left or are leaving the Milton Keynes-based outfit, and Verstappen's lead in the Drivers' Championship is under threat. With just six rounds remaining, can Horner maintain a stable enough working relationship with his team to keep hold of at least one Title?