Helmut Marko has defended Red Bull’s handling of Daniel Ricciardo‘s exit from the Formula One team, insisting that the Australian driver ‘lost his killer instinct’ and was no longer as daring as he used to be on the track.

Ricciardo was shown the door after the Singapore Grand Prix, with the Red Bull advisor, Marko, believing the 35-year-old was no longer showcasing the brawn and guile he had once exhibited during his racing career.

The Western Australian had initially left Red Bull in 2018 opting for a shock switch to Renault, before joining up with McLaren four years later.

After a disappointing spell with the British racing team, Ricciardo’s contract was mutually terminated before he was offered an F1 lifeline at Red Bull Racing. The charismatic driver would return to his old team as their reserve driver before taking Nyck de Vries’ seat at AlphaTauri in 2023.

During his time at the Italian racing outfit, Ricciardo’s highest finish came at the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix where he placed seventh.

It appears though that Marko only saw two driving performances from Ricciardo that appeared worthy of that recall. The advisor insisted that the Aussie was not the same driver who had once showcased ‘uncompromising overtaking’ and ‘breaking at the last minute’ during his previous spell with the F1 outfit. 

‘Daniel Ricciardo’s departure was only announced after the race weekend in Singapore for compelling reasons relating to commercial agreements,’ Marko wrote in his column for SpeedWeek.

‘He himself was informed in good time and – to put it in his own words – he is at peace with himself. I also think that the fastest race lap he set was a worthy farewell performance.

‘He was given a second chance that nobody else would have given him. ‘And this was done on the premise that a return to Red Bull Racing is possible if his performance is up to scratch. The Racing Bulls team was therefore only ever intended as a stopover.’ 

Ricciardo’s best finish during the 2024 season came in Canada, where he finished eighth in the field. 

Earlier in the season, Ricciardo had also placed fourth in the sprint race in the Miami Grand Prix. But his performances were not enough to impress the Red Bull chief.  

‘The necessary performance only flashed up twice, once with a fourth place in the Miami sprint this year and last year in Mexico.

‘But apart from that, the speed wasn’t there and the consistency wasn’t there either. The whole performance that would have justified a promotion to Red Bull Racing was missing. But that was the purpose of the whole thing.

‘If we knew why the performance wasn’t up to scratch, then we would have done everything we could to change that. 

‘But [Ricciardo’s] same killer instinct was simply no longer recognisable. He was famous for his uncompromising overtaking, for braking at the last point. But that was no longer the case either.’

The eight-time F1 race winner was replaced by 22-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson for the remainder of the F1 season. 

‘I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey,’ Ricciardo, who enjoyed a 14-year career in the premier driving circuit, said in an emotional post on instagram Instagram. 

‘To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you. It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it.

‘Until the next adventure.’

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has meanwhile shot a warning to Sergio Perez, detailing that Marko had wanted Ricciardo to be dropped as far back as the Spanish Grand Prix in June.