Azerbaijan GP in 2017 and Hungary GP in 2022 – Two race days on which Daniel Ricciardo pulled off two brilliant overtakes. In 2017, in the Red Bull, it was a triple overtake before Turn 1 in Baku. And in 2022, the Australian racer overtook both Alpine cars in one corner. He used to put on great shows for the audience. But, now as he returns to AlphaTauri and attempts to outshine Sergio Perez to land the Red Bull seat, a problem that prevented great overtaking at McLaren has followed him here.

Ricciardo’s stints with every team after Red Bull were inconsistent ones. He did win a race with McLaren, but could never convert that to more podiums and victories. At that time, he had spoken about how the instability of the rear of the car was an issue for him. In 2022, on F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast, he had said, “If you’re struggling at the exit of the corner, it’s usually a product of what happened in the corner that put you in a position where you have, say, difficulties at the exit of the corner. Most of the problems start at the corner entrance – maybe not all, but most of them.”

And unfortunately for him, his comeback with AlphaTauri might get dampened because of the same problem. AlphaTauri’s technical chief Jonathan Eddolls has acknowledged that the problem with the rear of the At04 persists despite upgrades.

He said, as quoted by Motorsport-Total, “The late corner entry, let’s say the instability of the rear, was the biggest weakness we worked on. We’ve improved that, but it’s still a weakness, I’d say.”

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So, there is a downside to the AT04’s performance with aerodynamic instability and loss of downforce at the corners. So, outclassing, or even challenging, Perez in this car might not be possible. But we can at least be glad that the Honey Badger will finally be driving an F1 car. And Martin Brundle is happy with the same.

Martin Brundle Breathes a Sigh of Relief as Daniel Ricciardo Finally Gets an F1 Seat

For 6 months this season, Daniel Ricciardo had been a part of the Red Bull Garage. Despite being a reserve driver for the team, he looked more like a content creator for social media. But his time is finally here. Though everybody loved seeing him in the paddock, him not being in an F1 car was not a good feeling. But now that he has a seat, Brundle has breathed a sigh of relief.

Brundle said, on Sky Sports, “I’m really pleased to see him back, but just my honest reaction was, ‘wow. Daniel’s going to do that, is he?’ It surprised me. My overriding feeling here is Formula 1 feels a better place when Daniel Ricciardo’s on the grid, and I hated seeing him having to loiter around all weekend.”

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Can the Honey Badger outperform the AT04? The next Grand Prix in Hungary is where he had executed a double overtake on the Alpines. Do you reckon we’ll get to see such racing from him again?