Formula 1: Top 5 replacement candidates for Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing
By Asher Fair
Robert Kubica
Robert Kubica, 33, is the current reserve driver for Williams Martini Racing. He was widely believed to be the lead candidate to replace Felipe Massa this season since Massa retired at the end of last season, but Sergey Sirotkin was able to bring more financial backing, allowing him to team up with Lance Stroll.
At this point, Kubica may very well be happy that Sirotkin got the second Williams seat, as Williams have struggled mightily this season. Through 12 races, they have secured just one top 10 finish, with that being an eighth place finish by Stroll in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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The team sit in 10th (last) in the constructor standings with just the four points earned by Stroll as a result of that eighth place finish, and they trail the next lowest team in the standings, Alfa Romeo Sauber, by 14 points, meaning the odds of them even having a slight chance to finish in ninth in the standings are extremely slim.
Among the veteran drivers who are not currently driving in Formula 1 but have aspirations of doing so, it would be hard to find one with more talent than Kubica, who last drove in Formula 1 in the 2010 season.
After driving in six of the 2006 season’s 18 races for Sauber, he drove full-time for Sauber from the 2007 season through the 2009 season before driving for Renault full-time in the 2010 season. Since then, he has been out of the sport aside of his current role as the reserve driver for Williams.
In his Formula 1 career, Kubica has secured one victory, with that victory coming in the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, 13 podium finishes and three top eight finishes in the driver standings, including a career-high fourth place finish in the 2008 standings.
While not many people would expect it, Red Bull Racing could most definitely hire Kubica to replace Daniel Ricciardo next year. He is very talented and would likely contend for podium finishes if not race victories despite the fact that he hasn’t driven in the sport since 2010. In fact, he had a deal to drive for Scuderia Ferrari in the 2012 season, but injuries that he suffered in a 2011 rally crash prevented him from doing so. He could be a steal for Red Bull Racing.
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Which driver do you believe will replace Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing in the 2019 Formula 1 season now that the 29-year-old Australian has signed a two-year contract to drive for Renault?