P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Daniel Ricciardo named as Red Bull ‘mentor’
Former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has been named as a mentor for Red Bull, marking a return to the team a year after leaving the sport. Ricciardo, who raced with Red Bull from 2014 to 2018, later moved to Renault and then McLaren, adding only one race victory to his career total.
Returning to the Red Bull family in 2023, Ricciardo joined the team’s sister team VCARB (now Racing Bulls) alongside Yuki Tsunoda. However, after a challenging 2024 season where he was outperformed by Tsunoda, Ricciardo was dropped from the sport in September and has since retired.
Tsunoda has described Ricciardo as a mentor who has had a significant impact on his career, especially compared to other drivers he’s worked with. As Tsunoda’s contract with Red Bull ends this season, his inconsistent performances could jeopardize his chances of renewing it for 2026.
Tsunoda’s recent improvement at the Azerbaijan GP offers hope for a possible contract extension if he can continue to perform well alongside Verstappen for the rest of 2025. However, if he fails to maintain his performance level, he risks facing a similar fate to his mentor Ricciardo in terms of his F1 career.
