Wednesday’s F1 news report says Christian Horner is at the centre of a row with McLaren over former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo and his ‘bad habits’.
We take a look at the day’s headlines at lightning speed…
F1 News: Christian Horner on Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren and more
McLaren engineer responds to Christian Horner’s ‘bad habits’ assessment of Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo’s former race engineer Tom Stallard has dismissed Christian Horner’s claims that the Australian developed a number of “bad habits” during his two years with McLaren.
Last year, Horner revealed that Red Bull “didn’t recognise” Ricciardo’s driving style in the simulator after he returned to the team from McLaren, where he struggled against Lando Norris throughout the 2022/23 season.
Stallard, now a race engineer for Oscar Piastri, has offered his views on McLaren, arguing that Ricciardo “drove very normally” during his time at Woking.
Daniel Ricciardo spotted wearing ‘I’m retired’ cap with next move still uncertain
Daniel Ricciardo appears to have made a smooth exit from F1 as the former Red Bull VCARB driver was pictured wearing an ‘I’m retired’ cap in a light-hearted social media post.
Ricciardo was dropped for the second time in two years after the Singapore Grand Prix last month, with Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson set to take part in the final six races of the 2024 F1 season for sister team VCARB.
The image has sparked online speculation that Ricciardo could be calling it quits with a return to F1 now seen as highly unlikely.
However, it is understood the cap was a joke as Ricciardo has yet to decide on his next move.
Christian Horner has said Red Bull “cannot afford” such a large gap between their drivers in F1 2025 in a fresh warning to Sergio Perez.
Perez is currently 187 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, while the Mexican’s place for next year remains uncertain despite signing a new two-year contract in June.
With Liam Lawson set to be assessed by the VCARB for the remainder of F1 2024, Horner has said Red Bull “desperately need answers” ahead of next season.
Max Verstappen admits Red Bull exit ‘possible’
Max Verstappen has admitted that it is “possible” he will leave Red Bull, but he has “enough to worry about” at the moment as the RB20’s performance wanes.
Christian Horner told the media at the Dutch Grand Prix in August that Verstappen’s contract contains a “performance element” that could allow the three-time world champion to leave Red Bull if the team fails to deliver a competitive car.
Despite being under contract until 2028, Verstappen has been linked with Mercedes and Aston Martin ahead of major regulation changes in F1 in 2026.
