Helmut Marko issues “has to come up with something soon” warning for Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has ramped up the pressure on RB F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo to improve his performances.

The Australian has had a difficult start to the season for the rebranded RB outfit and followed up a 13th-place finish in Bahrain by coming home a lowly 16th in Saudi Arabia.

Ricciardo endured a torrid weekend in Jeddah and was out-qualified by teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who reached Q3 but was unable to stay within the top-10 in the race.

Writing in a column for Speedweek, Marko made it clear that he expects more from Ricciardo, who has started 2024 on the back foot compared to Tsunoda.

“There’s a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel,” Marko said.

“Yuki’s qualifying was very good, and Ricciardo has to come up with something soon…

“At least Tsunoda is very good in qualifying. Then they are in the points in the first stint, only to fall further behind afterwards…

“Whether they are putting too much strain on the tyres or there are other reasons is what you need to find out.”

Ricciardo, who had a spin at Turn 1, claimed his RB car had not been “functioning at 100 percent” in the race.

The eight-time grand prix winner is targeting a return to Red Bull and Sergio Perez’s vacant seat for 2025, but knows he will have to up his performances if he is to achieve his goal.

Perez has started the campaign with back-to-back second place finishes behind teammate Max Verstappen to ease some of the pressure hanging over him as he looks to retain his drive for a fifth season.

However, the Mexican was equivocal in his response to being asked by Sky F1 if he wanted to continue with Red Bull into 2025, replying: “I think it’s really early to say that.

“I want to wait a few races to see how everything goes.

“It’s obviously not easy or straightforward. [The seat] has some complications that we’ve seen in the past. We’ve seen great drivers, they don’t even survive six months or a year and they’ve been great drivers but it’s a unique team in that regard.”