Horner: Ricardo is amazing, he’s his old self again

Ricciardo fought to the second row in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, starting fourth and finishing seventh. Ricardo thus brought his team the best result in the qualifications so far this season.

The possibility of Red Bull replacing the Mexican Sergio Perez in its primary team is mentioned, but Horner (for the umpteenth time) has indicated that this will likely not happen.

Behind the Australian is a turbulent period - after parting with McLaren, he was not actively involved. Still, he got the opportunity again when Alfatauri parted ways with the Dutchman Nick de Vries during the summer. Then Daniel broke his wrist right in Zandvoort, and because of that, he missed five more races. In that period, he was replaced by rookie Liam Lawson.

“It’s great to see Daniel in such good form; that’s why we brought him back to be part of the caravan before the summer break. He was outstanding in the fight with Mercedes in Mexico. Had it not been for the red flag, he probably would have finished the race in an even better position. He seemed like the good old Ricciardo,” said Horner and added: “We have a contract with Checo for the next season, and our plan is for him to be a Red Bull driver in 2024. We will support him in his quest for second place in the standings, but it does not mean that we will cross him out even if he fails in that”.