Christian Horner says Daniel Ricciardo was the perfect successor to Sebastian Vettel as Red Bull’s number one driver, but the Australian joined the team at the worst time.

Red Bull called Ricciardo to their top team to partner with Vettel in the 2014 F1 season after Mark Webber retired. It also soon fell on the Perth native to step up as Red Bull’s No1 driver from 2015, after Vettel jumped from the team that he won four titles with to sign for Ferrari.

Vettel and Red Bull were the unbeatable force in Formula 1 between 2010 and 2013, as the German and the team from Milton Keynes built a dynasty on the back of him becoming the youngest-ever F1 champion at the time. Yet it all came crumbling down in the 2014 season.

Christian Horner thinks Daniel Ricciardo was the ‘perfect’ heir to Sebastian Vettel but Red Bull were not ready

Mercedes took full control of Formula 1 after the series introduced the 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid power units in 2014. Red Bull no longer posed a genuine threat at the front of the field after Renault failed to adapt to F1’s 2014 engine regulations, and would ultimately only fight for a title again when Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 F1 title with a Honda PU.

Horner, who was Red Bull’s team principal when Ricciardo joined from their junior F1 team (who were still operating as Toro Rosso), now admits that the situation that the Australian walked into was far from ideal. It also did not help Ricciardo to show why everyone at Red Bull rated him so highly that they moved Daniil Kvyat up from Toro Rosso after Vettel’s exit.

Writing in his book, Drive, Horner recalled: “Daniil was brave and determined, and had won the GP3 championship driving for the Arden Team. But in Formula 1 terms, he was still relatively inexperienced.

“As a Toro Rosso driver and a protege of the Red Bull Junior Team, he had been steamrollered into the second seat following Sebastian’s departure.

“His appointment was presented as a fait accompli; it was claimed that we didn’t have the time to sign a more experienced driver. But he was a rookie, the step up was massive, and ultimately, he was struggling to deliver.

“Meanwhile, Daniel, who was still reasonably green himself, wasn’t matching the form of his debut season [with Red Bull]. We were all disappointed.

“Maybe Daniel had arrived at Red Bull at the wrong moment. The poor guy had jumped into the car during 2014 expecting to challenge for championships and then watched as Mercedes streaked away from us, winning 16 races during our worst season in four years.

“But if anyone at Red Bull had the personality to overcome adversity, it was Daniel. He brimmed with enthusiasm, had a great sense of humour, and his connection with the team, our fans and the media was strengthened by a smile that endeared him to everybody he met.

“Daniel was also a fantastic driver, and the perfect replacement for Sebastian’s number-one seat. Indeed, in 2014 Confartigianato Motori named him Driver of the Year for his three stunning wins in Canada, Belgium and Hungary.

“I had first watched him in Formula 1 when he destroyed the opposition in the freezing cold at Silverstone. By the time he’d joined Red Bull, our mechanics and engineers were raving about his potential.”

Ricciardo made his Formula 1 debut mid-season in the 2011 British Grand Prix at Silverstone driving for backmarkers HRT, with whom he saw out the remainder of the season before Red Bull sent him to Toro Rosso in 2012. Two years for Toro Rosso then convinced Red Bull that Ricciardo was ready for a graduation to partner with Vettel once compatriot Webber retired.

Had Ricciardo joined Red Bull one year earlier, he would have entered a team on top of the world as Vettel won the F1 title in 2013 with 13 wins plus 16 podiums from 19 Grands Prix. Webber even finished his Formula 1 career with eight podiums, before moving to the WEC.

Instead, Ricciardo joined a Red Bull team playing for a distant second-best behind Mercedes due largely to Renault’s inferior maiden 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid engine. Ricciardo still achieved his first three career Grand Prix wins in 2014, but Vettel saw the grey clouds rolling in and he jumped over to Ferrari, leaving the Australian to lead Red Bull in their worst year since 2008.

Red Bull finished just fourth in the 2015 constructors’ standings and Ricciardo only achieved eighth in the drivers’ standings, having secured three fewer points than Kvyat in seventh.

Ricciardo also failed to win a single Grand Prix in 2015 and only reached two podiums, while Kvyat scored just one rostrum. A difficult start to 2016 then saw Red Bull demote Kvyat back to Toro Rosso to promote Verstappen, who quickly surpassed Ricciardo as their No1 driver.