Red Bull Set to Evaluate Ricciardo in Silverstone Tyre Test

Oracle Red Bull Racing are set to evaluate the pace of eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo in a Silverstone tyre test next month.

Ricciardo is now Red Bull’s third driver after returning to the team at the start of the season following McLaren F1 Team cutting his contract short due to his lacklustre performance during his two years with the team.

Pressure is building on Sergio Pérez, who isn’t performing up to standards for Red Bull. The Mexican driver hasn’t appeared in Q3 for three consecutive races and with Max Verstappen seemingly coasting to the Drivers’ Championship, many are questioning the performances of Pérez and his consistency since the first few races of the 2023 season.

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko recently told ORF, “We will have Ricciardo in the car for three days after Silverstone at the tyre test and then you can evaluate where Ricciardo really stands.”

Three days of driving the RB19 could give Ricciardo a really good chance to show what he can do and put further pressure on Pérez. Ricciardo previously drove for Red Bull and had an extremely successful stint with the team winning seven races in a period of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Lewis Hamilton domination. He left the team to join Renault for two years before moving on to McLaren, where despite winning the 2021 Italian Grand Prix he struggled to keep pace with young teammate Lando Norris.

It’s unknown where Ricciardo’s future lies, but with this Silverstone test coming, he has a massive opportunity to put himself firmly in the running if Red Bull were to make the decision to replace Pérez.