Australian F1 legend dismisses Ricciardo’s chances of returning in 2024
| F1 Live | F1 Replay | F1 Standings |
Ricciardo was dropped by McLaren at the end of 2022 following a disappointing two-year stint with the team.With Ricciardo unwilling to drop down the grid to join either Haas or Williams, he opted to return to Red Bull as their third driver.What is going wrong at Ferrari?Video of What is going wrong at Ferrari?The eight-time grand prix winner is still unsure whether he wants to return to F1, although there’s unlikely to be a plethora of good seats available.The top five teams are likely to be full for 2024, while a return to McLaren is off the table.Zhou Guanyu’s improved form relative to Valtteri Bottas makes Alfa Romeo an unlikely option, leaving AlphaTauri, Haas and Williams – the three slowest teams on the grid.Jones – only Australia’s second-ever world champion – doesn’t see any opportunities for Ricciardo to get back onto the grid.“I don’t think he will get a drive at Red Bull unless something happens to the two current drivers, I can’t see him doing a Grand Prix,” Jones told the Herald Sun.Related “The sport only works on TV…” Jeremy Clarkson’s F1 criticism continues Watch out Perez! Marko predicts “different” Verstappen in Australia“I doubt (he will be on the grid in 2024). At the end of the day, there is probably no reason why Red Bull won’t re-sign Perez, and obviously, Verstappen (is locked in) and I can’t see anybody at Ferrari resigning or going away, so I just can’t see where he can go.“Obviously, everybody likes to go out on a high note, and it’s just unfortunate that for whatever reason, and I don’t even think he knows himself, why his performance dropped off.“As I said before, I just can’t see him getting back into F1.”
Jones believes Ricciardo was too focused on “activities out of the cockpit rather than in it”.“I don’t think he even knows [why his form disappeared]) himself; I just think he went off the boil,” Jones said.“Really, in my own opinion, I think he concentrated and spent a bit too much time for his activities out of the cockpit rather than in it. That’s my opinion.”
For motorsport news follow TRmotosports on social media.
