Christian Horner confirmed that Helmut Marko was premature in his announcement that Daniel Ricciardo will join Red Bull for 2023.
The Aussie has been on the hunt for a reserve role for next season ever since he came to terms with the fact he would not have a race seat. He was linked heaving with a return to his former team, while Mercedes were also believed to have been an option.
Red Bull adviser Marko, speaking to Sky Sports Germany on Friday, revealed the 33-year-old would be returning to the team. "Ricciardo will be our third driver," said the Austrian. "We have so many sponsors, we have to do show runs and the like, so of course he's one of the most high-profile and best-suited."
Mirror Sport asked Red Bull if they could confirm that Marko was correct, to which the team replied that he had been "premature" in his announcement. While talks have been ongoing and it seems a verbal agreement has been reached, Ricciardo is yet to put pen to paper on the deal.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday morning, Horner confirmed that state of events. "We haven't signed anything yet, but Helmut, in his enthusiasm, has obviously announced it," said the team principal.
"So I guess that means Daniel will be joining us, unless, of course, he chooses not to sign [the contract]. Daniel's a big character. It's been disappointing to see his performances, he would have wanted a lot more out of the season. But he is still one of the biggest names, one of the biggest characters in Formula 1.
"He obviously has a history of being a Red Bull junior, and just with the demands that are on the race drivers these days, just from a marketing perspective alone, we are very active as a team, we do many, many show runs and events. So to have a driver of Daniel's profile and history with the team, within the group, is only an asset for us.
"It means he keeps in touch with Formula 1, we'll obviously be using him in the simulator as well, and he'll potentially be attending some events – if he does sign a contract. I'm sure that will all become clear in the event of him signing a contract."
Ricciardo won seven races during his five seasons as a Red Bull driver. He even out-performed Sebastian Vettel in their one and only season as team-mates, after which Daniil Kvyat joined the team before Max Verstappen made his debut. After the 2018 season, he decided to join Renault after feeling the Dutchman had become the main man within the team.
