Red Bull on Ricciardo: "Would've had two drivers with equal skills"
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Helmut Marko rates Daniel Ricciardo higher than Alexander Albon, but according to Red Bull Racing's advisor, it doesn't matter who sits next to Max Verstappen for the world championship standings at the moment. Marko also discusses a possible return of the Australian.
Answering the question of whether Ricciardo would do much better than Albon in the RB16, Marko answers: "I can't answer that question. There are no facts", he states at Motorsport-Total.com. "We are second with Albon in the World Championship. With Ricciardo that would have been exactly the same."
The 77-year old Austrian does agree that it is very likely that Ricciardo would have gained more points for the Austrian team. "What is true is that we would have had two drivers with equal skills. And it's also more fun with Ricciardo", Marko laughs. Somewhere Marko contradicts himself. He doesn't mean that Ricciardo would have done better next to Max Verstappen, but apparently, Albon's skills aren't equal to Ricciardo's skills.
The man from Graz could (and still is) always get along very well with the Australian. "We're still good friends."
Ricciardo next to Verstappen again in 2023?
This year Ricciardo is racing for Renault, while at the start of the season he signed a contract for two seasons with McLaren for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. A return to Red Bull is therefore in all likelihood at the earliest in 2023. "Ways back can always be found, but the circumstances have to be right," says Marko. Ricciardo was 33 years old at the time, so the question is not whether Red Bull would rather go for young talent.