Daniel Ricciardo’s Childhood Fantasy Crushed to Death as Red Bull Return Faces Unavailability Issues

A disappointing 2-year stint at McLaren forced Daniel Ricciardo and the team to cut his contract short by 1 year. He subsequently decided to take a year away from F1 to figure out what was wrong and come back stronger. Therefore, he took the role of a third driver with his old team, Red Bull. Team principal Christian Horner iterated that his role would include participating in the team’s promotional events. However, it looks like the Honey Badger will miss out on one of Red Bull’s most crucial events down under.

Ricciardo has never raced on the Mount Panorama Circuit- the home to Bathurst’s 12-hour endurance event. Therefore, when he was asked in 2021 if he would like to participate for McLaren, he was mighty excited. While the dream did not come true then, the opportunity did present itself recently. However, the Honey Badger remains unavailable.

Red Bull has planned a demo run with the RB7, Sebastian Vettel’s 2011 championship-winning car. However, Speedcafe reported, “Ricciardo is unavailable on the February 3-5 weekend and hence cannot make the trip to Bathurst to cut laps.”

It would be disappointing not just for Red Bull, but for Ricciardo as well. It was his dream and to race in Bathurst has been a lifelong ambition for the Aussie. In a 2016 interview, he said, “Bathurst has always been a bit of a childhood dream I guess and I would love to take up the opportunity to do Mount Panorama at least one day.”

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Despite the disappointing run, Ricciardo’s commercial portfolio has continued to grow. And that is something Red Bull is looking to cash in on.

Helmut Marko tells what role Daniel Ricciardo will play at Red Bull

After Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen’s falling out in Brazil, Ricciardo’s move to the Austrian team was seen as a warning sign for Checo. However, in a recent interview, team consultant Helmut Marko reassured Perez against any such possibility. He even explained what Ricciardo’s role will be limited to.

Speaking with ServusTV, Marko said, “We have to remember that we are a great team.”

“We also have the largest number of sponsors on the grid. This means that we also have many commitments every year, such as car shows and roadshows in the United States,” he added. “Who can do it better than Ricciardo with his smile, his shoeys and I don’t know what else he has up his sleeve?”

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The news of his unavailability is certainly a disappointing one for Ricciardo fans. This was a rare opportunity for them to see him race in 2023.