F1 News: Christian Horner Names F2 Driver As Potential Daniel Ricciardo Replacement For 2025

Saajan Jogia | Jul 15, 2024

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, speaks at the Red Bull Fan Zone, a private event at Oracle headquarters, on Wednesday October 18, 2023. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has named F2 driver Isack Hadjar, as a potential replacement for VCARB (RB) driver Daniel Ricciardo for the 2025 season. The report arrives at a time when the Australian driver has been struggling to score points in the 2024 season.

With twelve races of the season concluded already, Ricciardo rests in P13 with 11 points in the Drivers' Championship, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who secured a contract extension for 2025, is one place above him with 20 points.

The next two races in Hungary and Belgium could determine his future with Red Bull's sister team and if he would secure a seat for 2025. Horner, meanwhile, has been eyeing fresh talent he could add to VCARB alongside Yuki Tsunoda, thus hinting at a Ricciardo replacement.

Praising Red Bull's young talents- the F2 championship leader Hadjar, and F3 driver Arvid Lindblad, who is P2 in the championship, Horner told the media:

“He [Hadjar] is doing a good job.

“He had a good weekend. It's good to see both Isack and Arvid Lindblad win the Formula 3 race [at Silverstone]. Two outstanding talents that are coming through.

“So, again, he’s making a strong case for himself next year, which is why we’re not in any rush to finalize seats in the sister team.”

Horner then openly revealed that Hadjar could replace Ricciardo in 2025, without taking any names. When asked if there are chances of the F2 driver securing an F1 seat, he said:

“There's always a chance.”

It seems as if Christian Horner has made it clear that he is considering new talent for VCARB alongside Yuki Tsunoda, and is prepared to replace Daniel Ricciardo if performance benchmarks aren't met.

Ricciardo replaced Nyck De Vries last year with the hope of advancing to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. However, his current form indicates that he must up his ante and score points to secure his existing seat at VCARB.