Not Max Verstappen, Another Product of Red Bull Junior Team Holds First Place in Christian Horner’s Heart

There could be all sorts of theories on how Max Verstappen is the center of Red Bull’s universe right now. However, he is not the only talented prodigy to come out of the Austrian team’s junior program. Daniel Ricciardo was the real deal when he first broke through in F1 with Red Bull. The Australian driver formed a close bond with the team, rising through the ranks with their young driver academy. While Verstappen is dominating F1 by winning championships currently, Christian Horner still holds a lot of affinity for Ricciardo. The Red Bull boss said so in Season 6 of Netflix’s Drive to Survive.

At the beginning of Episode 2: ‘Fall From Grace’, Horner is seen having a fun time with his kids. Then, his daughter asks him who is his favorite driver is. Horner quickly replied without hesitation that it is none other than Ricciardo. This was right after the 50-year-old highlighted some jokes about how Verstappen could race at 4 times the speed of light and outpace Santa Claus.

Horner has a lot of sympathy for Ricciardo, given their close bond during the latter’s first Red Bull stint. So, when McLaren sacked the honey badger, he reached out to his old driver to offer him a chance with Red Bull.

Of course, this was not a race seat. Albeit a third and reserve driver role, Ricciardo was in a desperate situation and losing his passion for F1. So, it was quite generous of the Red Bull boss to help the 34-year-old have a soft landing after his brutal McLaren stint.

Still, Horner addressed in the episode that even though Red Bull was signing him in a reserve capacity, Ricciardo may have had to accept the hard reality. In the initial stages of 2023, it seemed like his time in F1 was over, with negligible possibility of a comeback. But then the tables turned for the 8-time race winner.

How did Daniel Ricciardo find his way back to F1 within a year?

Ricciardo had to spend eight months on the sidelines in 2023. Being the reserve driver for Red Bull, he had promotional activities and some simulator work to take care of. However, the Aussie was not racing and that certainly was hurting him.

Regardless, Ricciardo kept his wide grin and rekindled his passion for F1 being on the sidelines. Eventually, as Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash RB), was in a spot of bother with Nyck de Vries struggling, the Perth-born driver got his chance.

Within just 10 races, Red Bull and AlphaTauri collectively decided to let De Vries go. Meanwhile, Ricciardo after testing the RB19 in Silverstone got the call-up from Horner and Co. to replace the 2020 Formula E champion at the Faenza outfit.

Cut to 2024, and Ricciardo is all set to start a full season with the now-rebranded RB team. Ahead of the campaign, there is a lot of talk surrounding how their car will perform.

The Bahrain season opener is just a week away. So, Ricciardo will be hoping that they can fight for points on a consistent basis, owing to the work they put in over the winter break. All in all, Ricciardo is back in business in F1 and is looking to complete a full-circle fairytale return to Red Bull Racing.