After two difficult seasons in McLaren, which ended with an early divorce at the end of 2022, Daniel Ricciardo has returned to his origins, in that Red Bull world that had accompanied him on his growth path both in the preparatory categories and in Formula 1. Although he initially returned only as a reserve driver, the Australian had a second opportunity with AlphaTauri, where he replaced Nyck de Vries, shelved after not even half the world championship.
A choice also born from the results that the driver from Perth had returned by working on the Red Bull simulator, enough to convince the team leaders to throw him into the fray to understand his level of fitness not only in virtual reality, but also on the track. Above all, the Pirelli test carried out at Silverstone with the RB19 was decisive, in which Ricciardo managed to put together convincing performances, starting to rediscover that feeling with a car that he seemed to have lost during the McLaren period.
A few days after that test the call came for the AlphaTauri seat, where he replaced the Dutch rookie. However, the return to Formula 1 was full of ups and downs: after a good first weekend in Hungary, albeit without points, in the event immediately following the summer break Ricciardo was again forced to stop due to a fracture suffered in Zandvoort after an unfortunate contact with the barriers.
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Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri
The Australian was therefore forced to take another period of rest and away from the tracks, with his return scheduled for the triple appointment on the American continent, starting from Austin, where, however, he was unable to obtain particularly exciting results. What weighed was the little time available due to the sprint format and the failure of one of the flow diverters which incorporate the brake duct, which remained stuck in the front suspension compromising the aerodynamic flows that flow along the car and the relative balance.
However, the American appointment helped to regain confidence with the single-seater, also keeping in mind that in the meantime the Faenza team had introduced several rather substantial packages, including the one in Singapore. Innovations that gave new life to the car also allowing steps forward to be taken to cure that instability at the rear end which took away the drivers' confidence, particularly in fast corners. Once in Mexico, the team immediately put into practice some set-up changes that, in reality, Ricciardo would have liked to try already in Austin, but the fact that it was a weekend with the sprint had pushed for prudence, putting the emphasis on the use of an already known set-up to regain contact with the track before the application of the Parc Fermé period.
Precisely those setup interventions helped the AlphaTauri standard bearer to return to the top ten, thus collecting his first points since his return to Formula 1 with a weekend worth remembering for the performances and consistency shown. A weekend that conveyed great confidence, exactly what Ricciardo felt he really needed: “A weekend like the one in Mexico was a weekend in which I felt everything I needed to feel again. Obviously the team was very happy, everyone was happy, and these things help the whole future a little.”
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Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri AT04
“Putting the car in a position where people don't expect to see it is something that excites you, and fourth place [in Messico] it was like a pole, because it seemed that AlphaTauri had no right to be on the second row this year. It's never felt like this, so this kind of thing excites me, gives me butterflies inside. And if that happens, it could obviously open the doors for me to fight for victories again.”
Victories, a term that undoubtedly cannot be used lightly, because the last two seasons have shown that success is for few. Furthermore, in order to win a Grand Prix, barring particular episodes, the objective must first of all be to convince the Red Bull top management to bring him back to the parent company, especially in the event that Sergio Perez does not convince during the championship. Ricciardo believes he still has what it takes both to be able to aim for the seat of the Milton Keynes team, with which he would like to end his career, and to return to winning in the top flight.
Ambitions which, however, according to the Australian must be managed: “If I want to win again, it's because I believe I can do it. But I have no intention of basing this second phase of my career only on this, of dictating my happiness, of ranking success in this second phase. Winning again would be a bonus [ma] I feel like I'm not carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and that's pretty cool.”
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