It wasn’t too long ago when Daniel Ricciardo severed ties with McLaren to take a year off from F1. A two-year stint of underwhelming performances triggered the parties to mutually end the contract prematurely by one year. Following that, the Honey Badger refused to join Haas as Mick Schumacher’s replacement, citing a return with a relatively more competitive in 2024. That commitment could be cut short as a potential seat has presented itself. However, Red Bull management is facing fans’ anger.

Following the conclusion of the Australian GP last month, Ricciardo appeared for an interview with Speedcafe. There he told them that he wouldn’t return to F1 next year just for the sake of it. He said that he is in that stage of his career now where he cannot start with a lower-rung team again and rebuild his career for the next 10 years. That stance could change soon if the rumors doing the rounds of F1’s streets are true.

Daniel Ricciardo to replace Nyck de Vries?

Ever since the start of the season, rookie Nyck de Vries has failed to score any points. What is more problematic is that he’s had a couple of crashes already which for an arguably cash-strapped team like AlphaTauri is problematic. Meanwhile, rumors suggest that Helmut Marko has delivered the Dutchman a 3 race ultimatum to save his seat. Add to that the reports of Ricciardo already being in Faenza, AlphaTauri’s headquarters for a seat fit and it makes for a perfect gossip.

Fans, however, are far from happy with Red Bull’s approach. Many slammed the team for not giving de Vries enough chances to prove his talent. Some even went to the extent of calling the Milton-Keynes-based team’s environment “toxic”.

Take a look at some of the reactions from Twitter.

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Another fan slammed Red Bull for expecting instant results and even urged Helmut Marko to his own racing career.

One fan felt that if the team really was looking for a replacement, they should have tried out a youngster like Felipe Drugovich, who is Red Bull’s reserve driver.

One fan pointed to Yuki Tsunoda’s career progression, as he too had a problematic start to his AlphaTauri stint with a series of crashes. Despite all of it and the differences, the team backed him and he is currently proving his worth pretty well.

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Do you think it is too harsh if Red Bull management really has delivered Nyck an ultimatum after just 5 races? Will Ricciardo really take the seat after vehemently speaking against any such career choice?