Formula 1 supporters have been buzzing recently as fan favorite Daniel Ricciardo has successfully made his return to the grid this weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After joining AlphaTauri for the rest of the 2023 season, the Australian has made his goals clear by stating that he is keen on grabbing the second seat at Red Bull that is currently occupied by Sergio Perez. While the Mexican has had his share of struggles recently and there is a chance that Red Bull may replace him, it is pertinent to note that Ricciardo is not the only one that is eying his seat. This is because the 34-year-old also has competition from his current AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
With Ricciardo having joined AlphaTauri, the senior Red Bull team management will want him to bring in his experience and help their sister team get out of this slump. When it comes to Tsunoda, the team will just hope that the Japanese driver continues to put in some consistent performances for the rest of the 2023 season.
So far, Tsunoda has done just that, scoring two points in what is arguably the slowest car on the grid. Even though the 23-year-old is going through a frustrating time at AlphaTauri because of the team’s poor pace, it seems that he has bigger plans for his future. This is because he has issued a direct challenge to Ricciardo about wanting the second seat at Red Bull next year.
Yuki Tsunoda understands the “slowest will not reach Red Bull“
Soon after AlphaTauri confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will replace Nyck de Vries, Yuki Tsunoda insisted that he wasn’t afraid of stepping up to the former McLaren driver. In a recent interview (as quoted by soymotor.com), the Japanese driver explained how it is his dream to drive for Red Bull at some point in the future.
With Ricciardo having publicly revealed the same ambition, Tsunoda said in a recent interview: “The slower one will not make it to Red Bull“. The Sagamihara-born driver then added that he knows better than anybody else that the honey badger is not the easiest drivers to beat, and that he will need to be at his best to beat him.
A few days before Tsunoda made these remarks, Ricciardo stated in an interview that signing for AlphaTauri is his best opportunity to get a drive with Red Bull again. While he understands that there are no guarantees that Red Bull will sign him, he still believes that a few impressive performances with AlphaTauri could give him an opportunity to race for the Milton Keynes-based outfit next season.
Marko wants Daniel Ricciardo to be the benchmark for Tsunoda
Soon after AlphaTauri confirmed the signing of Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko explained how the team is now going to use the him as a benchmark for Yuki Tsunoda. In the same interview (as quoted by clutchpoints.com), Marko also added how Ricciardo knew that he would get the second seat at AlphaTauri if he performed well during the recently conducted Silverstone tests.
The 34-year-old put on a fantastic performance during the tests as he registered a blistering lap time that was just seven tenths off the lap time Max Verstappen set for pole at the British Grand Prix. Now that Ricciardo has returned to F1, all eyes will be on him at this weekend’s Hungarian GP.
