Daniel Ricciardo has received significant support to replace Max Verstappen at Red Bull, if the Dutch driver is suspended for an F1 weekend.
The four-time drivers' champion finds himself on the edge of being banned for a round following the Spanish Grand Prix, where he picked up three FIA super licence penalty points for deliberately colliding with George Russell.
That crash takes Verstappen to 11 of the permitted 12 points over a 12-month period, with trips to Canada and Austria to navigate before the critical situation relents.
As a result, speculation as to how Red Bull would manage having its talisman missing for a weekend has rapidly gained traction.
There are a number of drivers available to the team given it has Racing Bulls to rely on and in the event Verstappen does get banned, it will most likely temporarily promote Isack Hadjar or Liam Lawson to slot in alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
That would leave an open seat at the Faenza-based team, which would be filled by reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa or rising star Arvid Lindblad - if the FIA awards him special dispensation to have his super licence early.
However, it is Ricciardo who would be the most popular choice for the six-time constructors' champions - and there numerous plus points to him standing in.
Although not thought to currently be in the equation, the Australian returning to the Milton Keynes team was overwhelmingly backed by F1 fans in a recent poll conducted by RacingNews365.
The eight-time grand prix winner took over 57 percent of the vote, over 40 percent clear of the second-most popular option, Hadjar.
Whilst is likely just a pipe-dream, even if Verstappen does get banned, it underlined how much support the 35-year-old retains in F1.
The full results from the latest poll by RacingNews365 can be found below. Let us know what you think in the comment section.
Who should replace Max Verstappen at Red Bull if he gets banned?
| Answer | Share of vote |
|---|---|
| Daniel Ricciardo | 57.32% |
| Isack Hadjar | 16.58% |
| Sergio Perez | 7.05% |
| Ayumu Iwasa | 6.00% |
| Valtteri Bottas | 4.76% |
| Liam Lawson | 4.23% |
| Arvid Lindblad | 1.94% |
| Someone else | 1.76% |
| Zhou Guanyu | 0.35% |
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they discuss last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix! Max Verstappen's clash with George Russell is a major talking point this week, as is whether Lewis Hamilton has started to contemplate if he is still quick enough.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
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