Red Bull has dropped Formula 1 hopeful Dan🔜 Ticktum from its junior programme.

Ticktum, who has been backed as a fully-fledged Red Bull junior since 2017, finished as runner-up to 𒉰Mick Schumacher in last year’s European Formula 3 Championship but has struggled since moviꦜng into Japan’s Super Formula series.

The two-time Macau Grand Prix winner has endured a poor start to 2019 with the Honda-powered Team Mugen squad and sits 15th in the championship after scor🃏ing just a single point from the opening three races.

“It’s a scheme that is results based and he’s had a tough time in Japan and it wasn’t working out,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner🥃 told Sky Sports.

“He was a member of the junio🦂r team and it was decided that he wasn’t the right guy moving forward as an option for either us or Toro Rosso, therefore the sums were called.

“He was given t🌃he shot, he was given the opp🦩ortunity. It’s up to these guys to grab that with both hands.”

Ticktum had hoped a successful campaign in Super Formula would gain him the points re🅺quired to qualify for an F1 super licence ♕and subsequently thrust him into contention for a Toro Rosso drive in 2020.

Red Bull has recently signed IndyওCar driver Patricio O’Ward - 𝐆who will make his Formula 2 debut this weekend in Austria - to its junior scheme.