As Ricciardo prepares for his F1 comeback at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, the Australian is well aware that he is going to face a pretty challenging time in an AlphaTauri car that has left the team at the bottom of the constructors' championship standings.
But reflecting on the reasons why Ricciardo has elected to throw himself in at the deep end as a replacement for Nyck de Vries, Red Bull team principal Horner has explained that there is a bigger picture at play.
He says Ricciardo is clearly out to prove himself as the best candidate to land a seat at Red Bull for 2025 when current driver Perez will be out of contract.
Speaking to the F1 Nation podcast, Horner denied suggestions that Ricciardo was being evaluated for a Red Bull seat in 2024 but said everything was about the following year.
"At the moment, there's only something in place until the end of the season, so there are no thoughts or expectations beyond that," said Horner. "We've loaned him to AlphaTauri until the end of the year.
"Obviously, our drivers are going to be Max [Verstappen] and Checo again next year, but it's always good to have talent in reserve. And I think Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri, he firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat.
"That is his goal and objective and, by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025."
Horner explained that the decision to hand Ricciardo the AlphaTauri seat for the rest of the season was made pretty quickly during last week's Silverstone tyre test, when the Australian had his first outing in Red Bull's RB19 car.
When he delivered a time that, when adjusted based on fuel, tyre and track conditions, would have been good enough to secure a spot on the front row for the British Grand Prix, Horner said the decision was effectively made.
Source: Autosport