The rumors surrounding Daniel Ricciardo making a return to F1 have finally been put to rest. The honey badger completed his comeback to the sport earlier today when his move to AlphaTauri was made official. However, now, Ricciardo is facing instant pressure, with Red Bull and AlphaTauri expecting him to outperform Yuki Tsunoda, who is already performing at a high level.
Ricciardo replaced Nyck De Vries at AlphaTauri, a driver who was struggling immensely since making his debut earlier this year. Just 10 races into his short-lived stint, Helmut Marko and the Red Bull bosses decided to pull the plug on his De Vries. Now, the spotlight shifts to Ricciardo, a driver who himself was going through a woeful run of form during his last spell in F1 with McLaren.
Daniel is back! 👊@danielricciardo, on loan from @redbullracing, will be racing for us for the remainder of the #F1 season, starting from the Hungarian GP.
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— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) July 11, 2023
Ricciardo’s two-year nightmare spell at McLaren came to an end in 2022. He couldn’t find a seat for himself for this year, so he returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver. However, with the wealth of experience, he has under his belt, AlphaTauri jumped to securing his full-time services the moment they felt that De Vries wasn’t going to work out.
Daniel Ricciardo has to outperform Yuki Tsunoda
So far, Yuki Tsunoda has had a very impressive season with AlphaTauri. He has scored just two points so far, but he is driving what is by far the most underwhelming car on the grid this year. Tsunoda’s performances have been so good that Helmut Marko brought him up in discussions while talking about Red Bull’s future.
Ricciardo will now have to suit up for AlphaTauri and take part in his first Grand Prix weekend of the year in just two weeks’ time. Contrary to Tsunoda, who has taken part in 10 races so far, Ricciardo may still be rusty behind the wheel. He did take part in Red Bull’s Pirelli tire test. But it doesn’t compensate for missing out on months of F1 action.
One last point here: This is a *really* tough situation for Daniel Ricciardo. He HAS to beat Tsunoda, but with no testing. If he doesn’t, then as a driver he will – as I was implying in my earlier tweets – go out of fashion.
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) July 11, 2023
As pointed out by F1 on-stage host Sean Kelly, Ricciardo will have to match Tsunoda from the very get go. “This is a *really* tough situation for Daniel Ricciardo,” he wrote. “He HAS to beat Tsunoda, but with no testing. If he doesn’t, then as a driver he will – as I was implying in my earlier tweets – go out of fashion.”
Ricciardo hoping to impress Red Bull bosses?
Ricciardo’s return has been very well received by the entire F1 community, but he will be driving for a team that has been struggling to get into the points altogether. Considering the fact that he is an eight-time Grand Prix winner, Ricciardo would have definitely been hoping for a return with a top team.
Unfortunately, for now, all he can do is show the Red Bull bosses how good he is with AlphaTauri. However, he will keep an eye out for the much coveted Red Bull seat. Sergio Perez himself has been under fire lately for his string of disappointing results, especially in qualifying.
Marko and Christian Horner insist that Perez’s seat is safe. But with the Mexican driver’s contract expiring at the end of the 2024 season, Ricciardo will be hoping to make a huge mark and get called back to the team which made him a star.
