In the long off-season break, Daniel Ricciardo got courtesy of his ousting from McLaren, the Honey Badger would’ve had a two-point agenda for his return on his mind. First things first, he needed to get a seat. Then, obviously, he was done languishing in the lower half of the field. He would’ve wanted a shot at a top seat and battle for wins and podiums. Well, as things have turned out, he may have been served both of them on a platter. 

With AlphaTauri, he is back in the Red Bull family. And with the Bulls being the team to beat, he’s first in line to audition for the main team if the Milton-Keynes-based outfit decides to shuffle things around. But has the Australian made a mistake by signing himself up for this shot? 

Daniel Ricciardo given a brutal reality check 

The second Red Bull seat is arguably up for grabs. However, the road to that coveted seat is not going to be easy. After he cut his ties with the team at the end of the 2018 season, he did put himself in a position where any time he wanted back, he’d have to do it the hard way. 

And Nico Rosberg has acknowledged this. When asked on the Sky Sports F1 podcast about what the Honey Badger has to do to get that seat back, Rosberg said, “Well, it’s really going to be dominating [Yuki] Tsunoda, it’s going to be getting some points, some really strong races. Then, it depends on [Sergio] Perez also. If Perez continues this difficult form, then there could be a chance. But it’s going to be a big ask.”

If that wasn’t enough, Rosberg has pointed out yet another fatal flaw in Ricciardo’s master plan. He continued, “Anyway, I think Daniel [Ricciardo] made a bit of a mistake by mentioning that interest in going back to Red Bull Racing. The whole focus now on him is like; Is he going to manage to do this?”

“It’s all about that. But it shouldn’t be. It should just be about him racing for AlphaTauri and try to do a good job. That’s it. So, it’s a mistake for him to put so much focus on; ‘I’m only here because I want to get back to Red Bull Racing’.” 

Read More: “Perez Will Not Be in Red Bull Next Year”: End of the Road Beckons for Sergio as Max Verstappen Continues to Expose Elite Errors

But while Sergio Perez is at Red Bull, will Ricciardo get his fairytale ending? 

Sergio Perez left exposed at Red Bull

While Perez is still a Red Bull driver, the rumors about his imminent sacking are rife. That being said, has Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri comeback going to add another level of complexity to the whole equation? 

According to Christian Horner, it will! He said, “Obviously our drivers are going to be Max [Verstappen] and Checo [Perez] again next year. But it’s always good to have talent in reserve. I think Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri. He firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat. That’s his golden objective. And by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025,” as quoted by Mirror UK. 

Will Ricciardo be a Red Bull driver once again in 2025?

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