Daniel Ricciardo is one of the luxury absentees from this 2023 Formula 1 World Championship. Indeed, perhaps he is the real star left stranded due to two disappointing seasons to say the least (except for the victory obtained at Monza) with McLaren. Yet it is said that he will not remain to observe his colleagues racing up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Australian, now the third driver of Red Bull, is also the reserve driver of the AlphaTauri team, a reality linked to the world-famous brand for energy drinks and large investments which, among others, it has also been making in sports for several decades.
Ricciardo can return to Formula 1 shortly. It is not a certain thing, but the rumors that have been circulating for a few weeks now are not at all speculations. Over the past few weeks, the former McLaren driver has been in Faenza to seat the AT04.
For the moment it is only a necessity linked to the fact that Daniel occupies the role of third driver of the team directed by Franz Tost, but things could change over the next few weeks.
Helmut Marko, super consultant of Red Bull Racing and Deus ex Machina of the academy, is disappointed by the results obtained so far by Nyck De Vries and for this very reason Ricciardo could represent a great alternative to help the Faenza team make a leap of quality in terms of results.
At the moment the only 2 points collected by AlphaTauri this season were the result of two points finishes by Yuki Tsunoda. Two tenth places obtained in Australia and Azerbaijan. The score signed by De Vries is instead not very edifying: 14th in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, 15th in Australia, retired in Azerbaijan and 18th in Miami.
Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The 28-year-old former Formula E world champion is having a hard time finding the right feeling with the AT04, a car that was already below expectations after the first outings, as confirmed by Franz Tost dating back to last March, in Saudi Arabia.
“We were expecting a much more competitive car. In Bahrain we went into difficulty, here the story seems a little different, I hope that at least with one car we can go to Q3. But we have to work hard to make the car faster, especially on the aerodynamic aspect”, thundered Tost during the press conference dedicated to the teams, underlining how now, after numerous promises, he has lost faith in his engineers.
“There are several programs under study at the moment, the engineers tell me we are making progress, but I don’t trust them anymore, I just want to see the lap times, because that’s the only thing that matters.”
According to reports from some sources to Motorsport.com, Marko would have given De Vries a precise ultimatum: the Dutchman will have to obtain better results by the end of the Spanish Grand Prix which will be held at Montmelò in Barcelona over the weekend which will go from 2 to June 4, otherwise the chances of him being replaced will be very high.
Daniel Ricciardo would be ready to take over from De Vries. The team noted how Tsunoda, when he failed to score points, still managed to finish just on the edge of the Top 10. The Australian’s talent could give the team something extra just to achieve the long-awaited goals.
Meanwhile in Faenza work is being done to try to improve the performance of the AT04. After the initial difficulties, the team has begun to bring innovations that have improved the single-seater. Recovery, however, will not be easy at all, because even the opponents – at the same time – have brought interesting packages that have worked in turn. That’s why the progress of the single-seater from Faenza was not so evident. The path taken is the good one, but a run-up will be needed to be able to straighten out a season that certainly did not start under the best auspices.
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