Daniel Ricciardo is fighting for a spot on the F1 2025 grid, with Red Bull confirming that both ends of the scale remain possible.
Ricciardo has found himself in a unique position in his first full season back in the Red Bull second team, now known as VCARB, where speculation has ranged from him being linked with a return to the Red Bull senior team, as well as losing his VCARB seat in the other extreme.
Red Bull has delivered ‘great’ or ‘different’ Daniel Ricciardo message
And amid fresh rumours that Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson could replace Ricciardo, perhaps as soon as the United States Grand Prix which follows Singapore, Ricciardo said the message from Red Bull has been that things could look “great” or “different” for him when it comes to his future.
“Honestly, during the August break, they said: ‘Look, there won’t be any changes, crack on for the second half, and you treat it, the pre-summer break, those last two races, the way you did. Treat the next handful the way you have’. So it’s really that,” said Ricciardo.
“And I also know, looking at next year, it could go one way, it could go another. So that’s why I just keep my head down and see what happens.
“And they have made me aware of it. Things could be great and things could look different. So see what happens.”
How the F1 2025 and F1 2026 grids are shaping up
Ricciardo believes he has found himself in middle ground when it comes to his form, wishing for greater consistency, as he now waits to see what decision Red Bull will make.
“I don’t wish to be in the middle, for sure,” he said.
“But I look back at my year, and yes, if you asked me in January, how do you think your year is going to go? I would have said, Yeah, I expect it to have gone better than this.
“But it’s not through lack of anything, really. I’ve really felt like I put everything into it this year, and okay, sometimes the result doesn’t come out the way you wish or hope or doesn’t always translate to maybe the effort you put in, but that’s sport.
“You can always argue both ways. It’s like anything, you’re going to have fans and people that see the good, but you’re going to have others as well who see oh, well, I wasn’t consistent enough, or this or that.
“I’m always going to look myself in the mirror and try to be as critical of myself as possible. And I wish I’d found some more consistency this year.
“But honestly, getting back into the sport after, let’s say, the McLaren period, I was more just looking for speed and like proving to myself that I could still run at the front with these guys. And there has been moments of that.
“Obviously, I wish I could produce it every weekend, but I take a little bit of heat away from myself. I think it’s also hard to do in a midfield battle. It’s every track kind of suits one or the other, and it’s hard to shine when you’re in such a tight fight.
“So that’s where I think all of us drivers have moments this year, but it’s been hard for someone to be consistently, at least in the midfield battle, to consistently be the guy, at least from what I’ve seen.
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