What Does Helmut Marko Have To Say About Ricciardo’s Future?

In a season where Max Verstappen’s dominance has been about as certain and evident as there is the moon during the night skies, there’s little drama left on the F1 grid. Which is why breaking news updates and trending developments from the world of F1, so to speak, have had little to do with what’s happening on the present grid; and more to do with new additions to it.

And where it comes to new additions to the F1 grid, there can be nothing brighter or more enterprising than the return of the famous racing driver who commands as many fans as respect: Daniel Joseph Ricciardo.

For someone who was paid a hefty amount to not drive by McLaren, Ricciardo’s been quite the social media star in the last few months, launching wine brands under his very name and hanging out in Hollywood. He’s had little to do with racing an F1 car, which is when all of it changed when he was suddenly contacted by the Red Bull outfit to get some simulator work done in a bid to re-prepare him for the cutting throat world of F1.

The return of Daniel Ricciardo

Here is he is again; back to the challenging world of F1, which is all about grind. Currently racing for AlphaTauri, where he has completed only two Grands Prix, one each at Hungary and Belgium, the Perth-born has been feeling quite better in a car that arguably complements his driving style.

The concerned brows have made way for that warm and affectionate smile but it’s job not done yet.

Ricciardo clearly has a lot of work to do up ahead.

That told, speaking most recently to a Motorsports magazine in Germany, Helmut Marko, easily one of the most identifiable and noted figures in the Red Bull contingent offered his views on the racing future of Daniel Ricciardo. The widely known Austrian, formerly a racing driver himself made no bones about the fact that Ricciardo could, once again, get a full racing sting in the near about future.

The following excerpts are from Helmut Marko’s interaction with the publication:

Of course, you have to know from Daniel Ricciardo what his… We know his goals, but how to achieve them, whether he is ready to do a full year at AlphaTauri next year with full commitment.”

However, that is not all that Marko shared on the part of Ricciardo and his time at AlphaTauri; the septugenarian would add the following on the perspective of where AlphaTauri are at this moment given their biggest strength of the season so far in the form of Yuki Tsunoda:

“Yuki Tsunoda has steadily improved in and of himself, has his emotions under control for the most part, is now also conditionally capable of driving through a GP. We have alternatives, for example [Liam] Lawson, who is second in Japan and is very successful there and has made a big leap forward in his whole development since he’s been driving in Japan.”

Furthermore, Dr. Helmut Marko would also share his perspective on just how big an addition has Daniel Ricciardo, once upon a time with Red Bull, been to the struggling AlphaTauri outfit:

The change has had a very positive effect, in terms of mood and motivation in the AlphaTauri team. While the gap of De Vries was on average three to five tenths, Ricciardo, if you adjust for all that, is significantly less, if not on par with Tsunoda.”