Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Daniel Ricciardo could have been an F1 World Champion if Red Bull had produced a car that matched the Australian’s talent, comments he made while preparing for a three‑stop speaking tour in Australia.

Horner praised Ricciardo’s on‑ and off‑track behaviour, argued that machinery — not the driver — was the main reason Ricciardo never converted his early promise into a title, and said he will expand on the assessment during events in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth later this month. He made similar remarks on The Christian O’Connell Show, contrasting Ricciardo’s peak pace with periods when Red Bull’s car was not the most competitive on the grid.

Ricciardo’s career timeline was recalled: he debuted in F1 in 2011 as an HRT replacement, progressed via Toro Rosso and was promoted to Red Bull’s senior team in 2014 to replace Mark Webber. In 2014 he won three races, added five more podiums and finished third in the Drivers’ Championship (notably ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel); he recorded seven wins with Red Bull and eight overall, with best championship results of third in 2014 and 2016. He left the senior Red Bull team after the 2018 Azerbaijan clash, later raced for Renault and McLaren, returned to the Red Bull family as a reserve in 2023, was promoted to AlphaTauri after Nyck de Vries was dropped, and in 2024 was replaced by Liam Lawson with six races remaining. Ricciardo retired from F1 after the Singapore Grand Prix late in 2024.

Horner’s comments were set against Red Bull’s later rise after switching to Honda power, when Max Verstappen and the team dominated the early 2020s and collected multiple World Championships. The remarks underline how car performance and team decisions can shape a driver’s record while highlighting Ricciardo’s enduring popularity and legacy in the sport.

Sources