Daniel Ricciardo is facing what could be the most important week of his Formula 1 career.

How he performs today at the Hungarian Grand Prix and next week in Belgium will not only determine his life after the summer break, but could also lead to extreme outcomes.

If the next two races go wrong, his current RB team could drop him from the race and that could mean the end of his career as a Grand Prix driver.

But if conditions remain the same in Hungary this weekend, he could still be promoted to Red Bull’s main team.

With Sergio Perez’s future increasingly in doubt amid his ongoing issues, there was arguably no better time for Ricciardo to win Q1 at the Hungaroring and put in a strong qualifying performance on an afternoon that also saw team-mate Yuki Tsunoda crash.

The situation surrounding Perez is incredibly complex. If Red Bull decides to replace the Mexican if his performance does not improve before the summer break, there is no clear favorite.

The three main options – Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson – all have their pros and cons.

Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The only thing that is certain now is that Red Bull is becoming increasingly frustrated with Perez’s situation.

After saying after the British Grand Prix that Perez’s lack of points was “untenable” in the long term, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner appeared even less happy with the situation following the Mexican’s crash in Q1 at the Hungaroring.

Speaking about how patient the team can be, Horner said: “Discussions like this happen internally, rather than through the media. But of course we can’t run on one leg.”

When speculation about Perez’s future a few weeks ago emerged, the most logical choice at the time was to bring in reserve driver Liam Lawson.

The New Zealander has been sidelined this year but has a strong pedigree and has done a lot of work in the simulator for the team. He was also recently assessed in an RB20 test at Silverstone, where he reportedly did enough to show he had the potential to step up.

His chances were also boosted by the fact that Ricciardo’s season did not deliver everything he had hoped for, with the Australian not performing consistently well.

But Ricciardo has been performing better of late and given that he previously drove for Red Bull and competed against Verstappen in the same team, this is certainly the least risky option to deal with the pressure that comes with being in the opposite garage to the three-time world champion.

Red Bull knows it has to consider the risks that could arise if one of its young drivers is deployed directly alongside Verstappen.

The pressure to perform against arguably the fastest Formula 1 driver is tough for someone as inexperienced as Lawson. And Yuki Tsunoda did himself no favours with his crash in Q3 of the Hungarian Grand Prix, dodging questions about whether he would buckle under pressure.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, crashes in Q3

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

There is also some additional logic to Ricciardo’s move up. A move to promote him would theoretically allow the energy drink giant to give Lawson a seat at RB, where he and Tsunoda could then be directly compared for the second half of the year.

If things go well for Ricciardo over the rest of the season, the deal could run until 2025. If that doesn’t happen, Red Bull will have had enough time to understand the potential of its young RB players and see if one of them can take a step forward instead.

Nothing has been decided yet and everything can still change in the Hungarian and Belgian races, but the significance of what is at stake is not lost on anyone.

Ricciardo himself said that while he had no formal confirmation yet that he was now a contender for Red Bull, he was clear in his own mind how decisive the coming days would be.

“I wasn’t told anything but I said to myself, ‘f**king do it’ – go fast,” he said.

“You have two races to give it your all, and to be honest, it’s not even with the idea of ​​moving up. It’s even in my turn to just lock something in for next year.

“So yeah, I went into the weekend thinking that these two races could be the most important, not just for my season but possibly for my whole career.

“So yeah, they didn’t say anything to me specifically. But I said enough to myself!”