Daniel Ricciardo Loses Out on $6,000,000 Paycheck From Red Bull After Replacing Nyck De Vries at AlphaTauri

In recent developments, Daniel Ricciardo has been given the opportunity to replace Nyck de Vries and rejoin the grid with AlphaTauri overalls. This has come after the Australian driver impressed the Red Bull hierarchy during the latest Silverstone testing and in doing so, he will now lose a $6,000,000 paycheck from the Austrian team.

Ricciardo joined Red Bull after spending two bittersweet years with McLaren after being replaced by Oscar Piastri. Joining as the reserve driver behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the Honey Badger spent most of his time behind the simulator helping the team with crucial data.

Apart from that, the Australian driver also had important media and promotional duties for the energy drink-based team. However, his move to AlphaTauri means he will no longer represent the Austrian team, losing out on making millions.

Daniel Ricciardo loses out on Red Bull money

The eight-time Grand Prix winner is currently one of the most popular drivers in Formula 1. He is probably the most popular driver in the United States after Lewis Hamilton and homeboy Logan Sargeant.

Given how popular he is, the Milton-Keynes-based team fielded him for promotional events throughout the season, whic will now remain incomplete. In doing so, he would have received a hefty $6 million from the team, which amounts to $60,000 a day,  without driving a car.

Since he will no longer be a Red Bull representative, he will lose out on an enormous chunk of money in the end. Apart from his personal endorsement deals, his source of income is expected to be the salary he will receive from AlphaTauri.

How much will Ricciardo earn now?

At Red Bull, while doing the duty of a reserve driver, the Honey Badger earned $2 million a year, and the remaining $4 million was his payment citing the promotional events. With that mode of salary gone, is it yet unknown how much he will make now as he gears up to drive alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

However, Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri run might be a preview of what is yet to come and with Sergio Perez’s downward trajectory in terms of performance, chances are that the 34-year-old might make his way to Red Bull. If this happens, his salary might remain the same, in that case.

Daniel Ricciardo will be joining the grid with AlphaTauri from Hungarian Grand Prix onwards at Hungaroring. He will remain as their driver till the end of the 2023 F1 season and this will be an emotional return for him as he last raced for them [AlphaTauri was formerly known as Toro Rosso] back in 2013 in the Brazilian Grand Prix where he finished in P10.