Daniel Ricciardo will need to convince Red Bull Racing hierarchy he is capable of delivering the team 200 championship points if he is to secure a drive with them in 2014, Autosport reports.
“Red Bull is not a team that can afford to be swayed by personal preference, a hunch, or a beaming Australian smile,” the Autosport article says. “It is cold-hard statistics that will count for its verdict.”
A total of 200 points would be no small task for the 24-year-old Australian. There is likely to be 20 races on the 2014 F1 race calendar, so on average Red Bull expects whoever replaces Mark Webber to finish fifth or better in every race. As it stands right now Daniel best ever race finish is seventh. With a better car and a better resourced team this should be achievable, although the pressure to perform will be immense.
Red Bull Racing has won three constructors’ championships in a row. In that time Mark Webber delivered 242, 258 and 179 points respectively in the years 2010–2012.
You would think the other reported Red Bull target, Kimi Raikkonen, would be more than able to meet the points criteria for Red Bull. Whether he would be willing to give up the freedom offered by Lotus to meet the promotional demands that go with being a Red Bull driver is another matter altogether.
It won’t be conclusive, of course, but if Daniel can put in a good performance with Red Bull at Silverstone today, on and off the track, that can only help his chances of promotion in 2014.
[Source: Autosport | Pic: Toro Rosso/Getty Images]
3 replies on “Red Bull wants 200 points from number 2 driver”
Red Bull should sign THE HULK for next year. His place at Sauber is going to a teenaged Russian pay driver next year and he’s an exceptional talent who has run closer to the front than Ricciardo in an even lower-ranked car. He’s also showed a lot of desire to stay in F1, doing a year as a test driver rather than nick off to some other category.
Sorry to say this, but I think Ricciardo is a journeyman who is never going to run at the front in F1, and will eventually fade away to race in IndyCar when he outstays his welcome at the Red Bull B-team without doing enough to advance to a top-tier team. The only way to advance from a lower-grade team is to out-drive the car and show that you’re worthy of being taken seriously, and he’s still yet to show any sign of doing that.
I think that’s very harsh commentary of Ricciardo! And I have much more faith in him, however I also agree with your statements about Hulkenberg.
Decisions Decisions, get up em Ricciardo!
[…] know that Red Bull has an internal target of 200 points from whoever partners Sebastian Vettel next year and Kimi is clearly capable of reaching that […]