Helmut Marko has defended the decision to drop Daniel Ricciardo for Liam Lawson for the remaining six races of the season.

With Christian Horner having been willing to give the Australian the rest of the year, it was clearly the controversial Austrian who wanted Ricciardo out. Indeed, Horner has revealed that Marko wanted to drop the Australian driver as early as Barcelona.

As criticism of the move continues, Marko has defended the decision.

He was given a second chance that no one else would have given him," he told SpeedWeek. "And that was under the premise that a return to Red Bull Racing was possible if he performed well enough.

"The necessary performance only came twice," insisted the Austrian, "once with a fourth place in the Miami Sprint this year and last year in Mexico. Otherwise the speed was not there, and the consistency was not there either.

"The whole performance that would have justified a promotion to Red Bull was missing," he added. "But that was the whole point of the whole thing."

Far from winning promotion back to Red Bull, Ricciardo was unable to keep his seat at RB, out-qualified 12 - 6 by his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who has also scored (10) more points this season and had more points finishes (8 - 4).

"If we knew why the performance was not as good as it should be, we would have done everything we could to change that," said Marko, though both drivers have clearly struggled with the car this season.

"But the same killer instinct was simply no longer evident. He was famous for his uncompromising overtaking and braking at the last point. But that was no longer the case either."

Though he may not have a drive, the organisers of the forthcoming United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas want Ricciardo to attend the event due to his popularity with fans.

"Daniel, may be able to have just as big of an impact out of the car as he has in it at our at our grand prix," said chairman, Bobby Epstein. "I'm not sure that necessarily people are buying tickets to come see him race if he's not in a competitive car, right? So if you're coming because he's part of the F1 community, I think he can still be part of the F1 community in a pretty meaningful way.

"He's really, really loved in Texas, and I think he likes it here," Epstein continued. "So I would hope that he makes himself available more to the fans than he would otherwise be if he had an obligation in the car. I hope he's still coming here, because we got a lot of people that would love to shake his hand or get his autograph or take a picture. Just see him around town. We'll keep him busy."

For those of a certain vintage, think Pete Aron turning up for the French GP (?) as a TV commentator after being sacked by Jordan-BRM following his involvement in teammate Scott Stoddard's horrific crash in Monaco. The American racer was subsequently given a drive by Japan's Namura team and went on to win the title following a down-to-the-wire battle with the Briton.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by TokyoAussie, 16/10/2024 3:28

"I reckon Marko makes these kind of decisions to justify him having a job at all."

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2. Posted by kenji, 06/10/2024 0:37

"@KKK Thanks for the response. The problem is, if I am correct in my understanding of the hierarchy at RB, that Marko is not employed by the racing team. That gives him more or less, carte blanche, in the driver field or else somewhere close to it. Yes, he's been successful in bringing very fast drivers to the team but so have many others in the paddock. Where Horner sits in the ultimate decision making has never been fully disclosed IIRC."

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3. Posted by KKK, 05/10/2024 21:01

"@kenji ....I totally agree with your comments, Marko should go. He brings nothing to Red Bull apart from negativety. If Dietrich Mateschitz was still alive, Marko would be gone by now."

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4. Posted by kenji, 05/10/2024 11:18

"They should've kept Daniel and got rid of Marko and his sidekick Jos. What wasted space. They bring nothing positive to the team, on the contrary, they are divisive and appear obsessive in their attempts to wreak havoc by way of critical comments. "

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5. Posted by Malemoi, 05/10/2024 8:18

"Marko is past his "sell by date". He and Jos the Tos are intent on undermining Horner wherever and when ever possible"

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6. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 04/10/2024 0:03

"@stackvideo - He brought in guys like Vettel, Sainz and Verstappen into F1, ironically Ricciardo was one of them too. So he has an eye for talent (no pun intended there). But he also wanted to gather the team into some cabin retreat and give everyone covid, so there is no half measures with this guy."

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7. Posted by stackvideo, 03/10/2024 22:37

"Excuse my ignorance, but what does Hemult Marko bring to F1 other than being a judge and executioner."

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8. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 03/10/2024 21:21

"Tough to let go of such a likable guy, he was given a second life and perhaps if he didn't crash in his second race back, breaking his hand then who knows? maybe he could have turned it around. Its no secret now that Helmut wasn't a fan of his return and its possible it didn't help DR's confidence with Marko looming over him like a haunted tree but here we are, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts...

"

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9. Posted by Editor, 03/10/2024 17:39

"Maybe I should have mentioned 'spoiler alert'"

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10. Posted by Anthony, 03/10/2024 17:10

"If any UK readers aren’t familiar with the film Grand Prix, it is available on Amazon Prime!"

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Marko defends Ricciardo decision

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