Daniel Ricciardo Subjected to Hard Hitting Reality as ‘Lando Norris Nightmare’ Touted as Biggest Challenge at AlphaTauri

The Daniel Ricciardo from 2014 to 2018 at Red Bull and the Daniel Ricciardo from 2021 to 2022 at McLaren were two completely different drivers. In Red Bull, he was at the top of his game. But at McLaren, he couldn’t have been further away from it. The Aussie left Red Bull to escape being the second driver to Max Verstappen. And while he got what he had hoped for at Renault—to be the main driver—it all went back to square one at McLaren. The Max Verstappen nightmare turned into the Lando Norris nightmare.

When Ricciardo was at Red Bull, more often than not, he had the pace to challenge Verstappen. And most race weekends, he did. But when he went to McLaren, he couldn’t, for the life of him, get a handle on the car, because of which he inadvertently became the second driver to Norris. He couldn’t help but face the same situation he was in at Red Bull, and it was evident that he was unhappy. But now that Red Bull has given him a second chance at AlphaTauri, he would be hoping to make amends.

A Red Bull seat wouldn’t be a Red Bull seat without a few expectations. And going into his first race back on the grid in Hungary, Ricciardo revealed Red Bull’s asks. He said, “They expect results, performances, you know, it’s hard to define. I think until I get in the car, it’s hard to define what that is. Is it a P8, is it a P14?” Even so, the hosts of the Unlapped podcast believe there’s a certain benchmark Daniel would have to live up to at the Hungarian GP.

When asked what the expectations would be, Nate Saunders said, “I’d say, clean weekend and beat Yuki Tsunoda. First weekend out, I think that’s a car with pretty big limitations, and the one thing you’ve got to do is beat your teammate, first and foremost.”

This would be a challenge for Ricciardo because the last time he was on the grid competing, his teammate – Lando Norris was outperforming him in almost every race. Saunders continued, “He couldn’t [beat his teammate] much at McLaren, so I think [beating Yuki] would show the confidence is there. In terms of results, I don’t know if that AlphaTauri is going to be challenging for points in a normal race, so the benchmark is going to be Yuki.” But even with the challenges he’s aware lie ahead, Ricciardo believes returning to the Red Bull family has brought him back to normal.

Read More: “Risking a Lot”: Daniel Ricciardo Faces Threat From Red Bull Prodigy as Unexpected F1 Return May Prove Anticlimactic

Daniel Ricciardo opens up about the positives of returning “home”

The Red Bull family is what got Ricciardo into F1. It’s where he spent most of his career. So it makes sense that he calls Red Bull his home. While joining AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso) would also be like a second homecoming, he’s glad he got to spend the first six months of the season with Red Bull.

Getting back “home” helped him get over his troubled past at McLaren. He said, “Getting back to Red Bull and the reception I had walking back into that team was really, in a positive way, a little bit overwhelming, and then getting back on the sim. Once I did a few sim sessions, I started feeling like myself again. And that brought me back to normal Daniel, where I was falling back in love, and I’m ready to go again.”

Could Daniel Ricciardo live up to Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s expectations at the Hungarian GP?

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