Daniel Ricciardo had his most successful F1 stint with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, after which his career was never the same. The Aussie returned in 2023 as a reserve driver with his loyalties still strong towards the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. In a recent interview, when asked about what his dream car would be, Ricciardo chose his first-ever Red Bull challenger.
Ricciardo’s first full season with Red Bull in 2014 saw him finish P3 in the Championship. He also won three races that year, his most successful haul ever. As such, his car that year – RB10 – remains his favorite. The 35-year-old revealed the same during an interview at last weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
daniel and his 2014 rb pic.twitter.com/lzlTMNnJRC
— ell³ (@dr3xln4) July 15, 2024
Ricciardo reportedly has a net worth of over $90 million. So, it is safe to say that the Honey Badger can buy almost any car he wants but the fact that he chose the first Red Bull car he ever drove shows how fondly he holds it in his memory.
When he re-joined the Austrian stable as its third driver, he made it clear that he plans on donning the Red Bull colors in F1 again. The eight-time Grand Prix winner got his chance to prove that he could compete at the front as Max Verstappen‘s teammate a few months later when he replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri (now V-CARB).
Unfortunately, things haven’t quite gone his way since.
Ricciardo’s dream of returning to Red Bull
Ricciardo took a lot of time to get up to speed at V-CARB, being outshined by Yuki Tsunoda. It took until the Chinese GP this season for the Perth-born driver to find his mojo back and even then, his performances have been lackluster on several occasions.
Still, Ricciardo remains linked to Red Bull but that is due to Verstappen’s partner Sergio Perez‘s poor form. The Mexican’s recent results have been so woeful that the Milton Keynes outfit will be in danger of losing the Constructors’ Championship if things prevail.
As such, Ricciardo remains on his toes, hoping to fulfill his dream of returning to Red Bull. At the same time, Tsunoda and junior driver Liam Lawson remain in the mix for the same.
