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Marko firmly believes that Ricciardo's decision to leave Red Bull for Renault at the end of 2018 "was the turning point in his career".
Speaking to Motorsport-Total, Marko said. "Then he didn't have a winning car at either Renault or McLaren. He did win at Monza [2021 Italian GP], but those were special circumstances.
"I don't know what exactly happened, because if we knew, we would have helped him. But the speed and, above all, this late braking, and then he goes left or right... in these last few years he tried but it was no longer there, the killer instinct was gone."
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"He was informed, and the worthy farewell performance was, I think, the fastest lap.
"That still showed what potential he has, not continuously and not at the level that would have justified him coming to Red Bull Racing, but that was an impeccable performance.
"I think it was clearly communicated that he has to be significantly better than Yuki Tsunoda and he only managed that in a few races,
so it was clear that this story of the prodigal son rejoining Red Bull Racing unfortunately didn't work out.
"He said very well that he is at peace with himself, and he has come to terms with the situation and we will see what his plans for the future are."
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