Marko reflects on Ricciardo's 'prodigal son' failure

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has accused Daniel Ricciardo of losing his "killer instinct" that resulted in the return of "the prodigal son" turning into a failure.

After five years away from the Red Bull fold following five seasons with the team from 2014-2018, Ricciardo was reunited with the team that helped him score seven of his eight grand prix victories early last year.

Initially taken on as a third driver following his release from McLaren after two seasons of a three-year contract, Ricciardo was promoted in July last year by joining RB as team-mate to Yuki Tsunoda following Nyck de Vries' sacking.

But the hoped-for aim of a full-time return to Red Bull swiftly fell by the wayside this season as Ricciardo sporadically showed glimpses of his old self.

That has resulted in Ricciardo exiting RB, and likely F1 forever, as Liam Lawson has been handed the seat for the remaining six races.

Marko firmly believes that Ricciardo's decision to leave Red Bull for Renault at the end of 2018 "was the turning point in his career".

Speaking to Motorsport-Total, Marko said. "Then he didn't have a winning car at either Renault or McLaren. He did win at Monza [2021 Italian GP], but those were special circumstances.

"I don't know what exactly happened, because if we knew, we would have helped him. But the speed and, above all, this late braking, and then he goes left or right... in these last few years he tried but it was no longer there, the killer instinct was gone."

Ricciardo convinced by 'sweet talk'

Marko has confirmed that Ricciardo's reasoning for joining Renault was two-fold as the Australian "had certain reservations" about Red Bull's decision to switch to Honda power units, whilst he was also starting to be overshadowed by Max Verstappen.

"Apparently he listened more to the sweet talk of Renault and Cyril Abiteboul," said Marko. "Financially, there wasn't much difference between what Renault offered him and what we offered.

"I also told him, 'Shoeys will be hard for you' [referring to Ricciardo's victory celebration in drinking champagne from a race boot]. I don't think we've seen Renault on the podium a lot.

"He came to us, beating [Sebastian] Vettel with three-to-zero victories in 2014 and after that, Daniil Kvyat was faster than him at times, but over the season he also had him under control.

"And then Max came and he got stronger and stronger, so that was certainly one of the reasons for his decision to choose Renault over us."

Ricciardo knew of exit before Singapore GP

Marko, meanwhile, has confirmed that Ricciardo knew in advance of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that he would be replaced by Lawson.

Despite that, there was no special send-off for the 35-year-old, other than setting the fastest lap at the end of the race.

Explaining that the timing of Ricciardo's departure announcement was "related to a variety of factors and obligations," he added: "He was informed, and the worthy farewell performance was, I think, the fastest lap.

"That still showed what potential he has, not continuously and not at the level that would have justified him coming to Red Bull Racing, but that was an impeccable performance.

"I think it was clearly communicated that he has to be significantly better than Yuki Tsunoda and he only managed that in a few races, so it was clear that this story of the prodigal son rejoining Red Bull Racing unfortunately didn't work out.

"He said very well that he is at peace with himself, and he has come to terms with the situation and we will see what his plans for the future are."