It’s that time of year again! The time of year when silly season kicks into gear, and a Daniel Ricciardo comeback looks to be on the cards once more, despite the general assertion that he’s happy away from the track.

But, it’s fun to dream right? Especially, when a certain Red Bull driver is facing a race ban if he doesn’t clean up his act in the next couple of races.

If Max Verstappen acquires a single penalty point at either the Canadian or Austrian Grand Prix, the champion would pass the 12-point limit within a 12-month time frame and receive a race ban.

Whilst Red Bull will make sure their star driver is on his best behaviour to prevent this from happening, it got us wondering who could potentially replace Verstappen at Red Bull.

Who could replace Verstappen if he receives an F1 ban?

Red Bull has a sister team for a reason, and Racing Bulls would be the first place the team looked if they had to replace Verstappen.

With Liam Lawson already trialled and tested at Red Bull – to no avail – Isack Hadjar seems the most suitable candidate to jump into the team alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

The French driver has bounced back maturely from rookie errors in Australia and Monaco and secured 21 points for Racing Bulls in 2025 thus far, including a P6 and P7 finish at the two most recent rounds.

However, if Hadjar does replace Verstappen, Racing Bulls will be left without a driver and this is where Ricciardo potentially has a role to play.

Whilst Red Bull’s decision to axe Ricciardo arrived abruptly and rather harshly in Singapore last year, the brand would surely be keen to obtain the F1 fan favourite for one last race – at the very least from a marketing perspective.

But would Ricciardo want a return? The answer is probably not. Ricciardo has confidently stated he will not return to F1. Would Ricciardo really come back for one last race with Racing Bulls? It hardly seems worth getting out of your bed in Monaco for.

So, who else could occupy that vacant seat at RB?

In the event of a Verstappen race ban, it would be a perfect opportunity for Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad to step up into F1 and prove his abilities with Racing Bulls.

The British driver is currently third in the Formula 2 championship and has the required amount of points to obtain an FIA super licence to race in F1, whilst being lauded by Helmut Marko as the future for the team.

Alternatively, if Red Bull wanted to opt for experience, they could call back Sergio Perez for one race at the main team after his axe at the end of 2024.

Nevertheless, the drivers available to Red Bull are all unlikely to be able to mirror Verstappen and extract the most potential out of the RB21, proving just how reliant the team have become on the champion for their continued success in F1.