It won't be a suit goodbye to F1 that of Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. Months have now passed since the definitive break with the McLaren we know what turn the future of the 33-year-old Italian-Australian will take. His career seemed to be stalling definitive after yet another disappointing season, an already old-fashioned identity card and the high cachet requested by Ricciardo.
In his place, McLaren had already chosen the young man Oscar Piastri stolen from Alpine, which weaned him into its Academy program. The scandal Piastri generated another ripple effect, in turn triggered by the announcement of Sebastian Vettel's retirement and the arrival of Alonso at Aston Martin. Seats started to become scarce, until Daniel's announcement that he hadn't found a seat in 2023. Or at least until today.
A homecoming
He won't be an official rider but his will be an equally important role. As often happens, rumors anticipate already certain news. Ricciardo's case, first directed towards Mercedes and then towards Red Bull, was no exception. Indeed, today the confirmation arrived that Daniel Ricciardo will return to Red Bull as the third driver, in case a replacement is needed for Max Verstappen o Sergio Perez. The news took on more importance after what happened in Brazil and the friction between teams and drivers, dealing with team orders and unresolved issues during the season.
The climate has never been so tense at Red Bull, e Ricciardo's arrival has aroused the interest of the more mischievous who have seen in this move by Red Bull a cover operation if Perez is no longer suitable for the role of supporting actor for Verstappen. Max and Daniel are good friends, former teammates. They too with some friction but as usual in teams, remembering that your team mate is the first opponent you are called to beat. Daniel's farewell in 2018, to the team that saw him blossom, was due in part to the arrival of this cumbersome figure.
Marko's confirmation
The confirmation came from the Red Bull super consultant, Helmut Marko, who during FP1 communicated to the German SkySportF1 the officiality of the negotiation. An equally important role will still be played by Liam Lawson who will alternate between the role of reserve driver and simulator activity when he is not busy on the track. The New Zealander is back from an excellent fifth place in FP1 in Abu Dhabi. Compared to the past, Daniel is now in the descending phase of his career, and could live the rest of his days in the Circus with less pressure.
Source: Motorsport.com
