Ever since Daniel Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, the team has been on a positive path in F1, owing to the Australian’s invaluable insight on the development front. While this is due to his extensive experience in the sport, Ricciardo’s impact is much more profound than many expected. Per a report from SpeedCafe, ex-Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins believes the 34-year-old has provided a much-needed direction to the Faenza-based team.
“He’s brought a lot of experience to that team.”, Collins stated.
She also added, “They need a driver that’s fit to drive around some of the issues that the car has, that are fit to lead the development direction, that are fit to push a younger driver to do better in the laps, or the races, or whatever the case may be. And also, bring that air of calmness because things won’t always go right.”
Despite a wrist injury sidelining him from the action, Ricciardo helped AlphaTauri turn the tide by changing the set-up direction of the team. It brought about a positive string of results with Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda fulfilling the on-track duties.
Ricciardo also guided Lawson through each of his races, given the Kiwi driver had to take up the driving duties under tricky circumstances. Ricciardo’s positive attitude helped Lawson feel comfortable. The 21-year-old put in some of the best on-track performances this year, greatly helping AlphaTauri’s goal to improve consistently.
With Ricciardo acting as the team’s guiding light, he has become an invaluable asset for the Faenza outfit, not only because of his driving skills but also for the off-track impact he has made on the team.
Christian Horner also commends the inputs of Daniel Ricciardo
Having spent half a year on the sidelines, many didn’t expect much from Ricciardo when he returned to AlphaTauri. Given his impeccable engineering inputs, Christian Horner couldn’t hold himself back from commending the Australian driver.
The Red Bull boss said how he went beyond his role to help bring an air of positive change to AlphaTauri‘s camp. “He put some engineering direction into the team with the experience he had, and I think that really benefitted the AlphaTauri team.”, said Horner.
Even when he was just a reserve, Ricciardo was proving to be an invaluable asset for Red Bull. Horner explained how the former Red Bull driver did test runs for them and put in precious hours on the simulator.
While experts and pundits initially questioned the decision to replace De Vries with Ricciardo, the positive impact of the Australian on his team serves as the perfect way to silence his doubters.
