Former F1 world champion Alan Jones does not expect Daniel Ricciardo to ever return to Formula 1. Speaking to the Herald Sun the 1980 world champion says that, in his opinion, there is no possibility of his compatriot returning to the track in 2024.

After his contract at McLaren was terminated early at the end of last year, Red Bull brought in Ricciardo to work as a 'third driver'. Exactly what the role entails is somewhat unclear, as he will not be on standby as a reserve driver by default and will also seemingly do relatively little simulation and development work on the car. Ricciardo, however, immediately made it clear that for him it is all part of his plan to return to the forefront of Formula 1 in 2024. That seems to suggest he is angling for a seat at Red Bull.

"I don’t think he will get a drive at Red Bull unless something happens to the two current drivers," Jones helps dispel that dream. "I can’t see him doing a Grand Prix. At the end of the day there is probably no reason why Red Bull won’t re-sign Perez and obviously Verstappen is secured in the long-term. I can’t see anybody at Ferrari resigning or going away, so I just can’t see where he can go. I just can’t see him getting back into Formula 1."

Ricciardo couldn't really deliver at Renault and McLaren

Since he left Red Bull at the end of 2018, Ricciardo's results have not really been great. At Renault, he did manage the podium twice, and at McLaren he even surprisingly won a race, but otherwise the Australian was largely condemned to the midfield and often even lower. At McLaren, Ricciardo was consistently outclassed by his teammate Lando Norris.

"Obviously everybody likes to go out on a high note," Jones reflects. "It’s just unfortunate that for whatever reason, and I don’t even think he knows himself, why his performance dropped off. Really, in my own opinion, I think he concentrated and spent a bit too much time for his activities out of the cockpit rather than in it. That’s my opinion."