Daniel Ricciardo is back on the grid after he returned with AlphaTauri mid-season last year and extended his contract with the team for the 2024 F1 season. He will drive alongside Yuki Tsunoda in the rebranded Visa Cash App RB. As he prepares to have a full season with the Red Bull sister team, the Australian unravels everything about his new journey with the team and impending party plans.
Ricciardo isn’t quite a fan of pre-season break. He said this when he spoke with F1’s Lawrence Barretto and revealed why he didn’t need a long break coming into the new season. This was simply because he only raced seven times in 2023, which is nearly one-third of a season for a full-time F1 driver.
Therefore, he had more time to be ready and be fit both mentally and physically. During the interview, he also mentioned that he partied while he was out of the grid, working for Red Bull as their reserve driver. However, he wants to party later this season when he succeeds with VCARB, added the Honey Badger.
“I’ll party after some good results, don’t worry,” he said as he embarked on big laughter emphasizing his ambitious target. Notably, Ricciardo missed five races after he suffered a wrist injury in Zandvoort during the practice session of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. Meanwhile, VCARB, formerly AlphaTauri kept on improving.
Ricciardo made his comeback in the 2023 United States Grand Prix in Austin and raced till the end of the season. As a result, he helped his team finish in P8 of the Constructors’ Championship with 25 points. the #3 driver ended the season with six points in P17 of the Driver’s Championship.
Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB and it’s 2024 F1 season
Daniel Ricciardo sat down with Barretto on the same day of their livery reveal of the VCARB 01. VCARB released their livery for the 2024 F1 season on February 8th in Las Vegas and won over the fans, for sure. They are the only team to not have excessive exposed carbon fiber on their livery, for now.
The pattern of livery as seen so far is full of weight-saving ideas. Sauber (Stake F1), Williams, Haas, and McLaren to name a few, all have black carbon fiber instead of paint on the body. This, to be fair, disappointed fans in general who came out on social media to share their discontent.
On the other hand, VCARB impressed fans with their ‘different’ idea when they brought out the eye-catching white and blue livery on a glitzy night in Las Vegas, USA. In doing so, they moved away from their navy-colored AlphaTauri and brought back the old Toro Rosso color theme.
Fans, to say the least, were left impressed. Given below are some of the reactions from X (formerly Twitter):
