Daniel Ricciardo’s Hypocritical Move to Team “Worse Than McLaren” Raises Eyebrows Despite the Celebrations Over His Return

Tuesday ended up being a special day for Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull supporters since the honey badger, who had previously expressed a desire to return to the Formula 1 circuit, could finally get behind the wheel of an F1 car right after finishing the Pirelli tire test for Red Bull at Silverstone. The honey badger did obtain this seat, but at what cost? It was at the expense of Nyck de Vries, who had been fired by the AlphaTauri’s seat. However, considering that Ricciardo previously claimed to have a “fairy tale ending” in a Red Bull vehicle, is it some sort of his gamble to drive a car worse than McLaren?

Soon after Daniel Ricciardo was ousted by McLaren, some of the top teams made him an offer. However, the honey badger turned down all the offers and stuck with Red Bull, his “home” side. At the time, he claimed that “I don’t want to go back to ground zero,” meaning he didn’t want to fight at the back of the grid and wanted to be in a competitive team as justification for staying away from small teams.

Nevertheless, fate seems to have brought him a vehicle that is considerably less subpar than the team that he left, McLaren. His choice took aback many of us, including Ted Kravitz, a formula expert, to join a team at the bottom of the standings. However, being delighted to be back on the Formula 1 track, Ricciardo said, “I’m stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!”

Later Kravitz was heard questioning the eight-time Grand Prix winner on his choice on the Skysportsf1 podcast. He said, “On the Red Bull RB 19, which is the class of the field, he’s not driving that car. He’s driving probably one of the slowest cars on the grid, if not the slowest, which is the AlphaTauri. The Alpha Tower had some upgrades to Silverstone, and they finished further down than they normally do with a non-upgraded car.”

While pointing out that McLaren is in a much better place, Kravitz said, “Surprises why Daniel Ricciardo would want to go into that car and the cars that is worse than the McLaren he left probably last year.” 

READ MORE: “Don’t Like This at All”: Max Verstappen & Co. Face Criticism From Fans as Daniel Ricciardo Replaces Nyck De Vries at AlphaTauri

Looking at the honey badger’s choice, we can’t help but wonder why someone who wanted a place in a competitive vehicle would choose to sit in the bottom-ranked team. Does all this pile up to make a reason valid enough for Sergio Perez to worry?

Is Daniel Ricciardo’s seat confirmation at AlphaTauri an event of concern for Sergio Perez?

Ricciardo has already stated his wish to drive behind a Red Bull vehicle to end his career on a happy note. Given his Red Bull performance, the management would be tempted, but considering the benefits Sergio Perez provides with his Mexican heritage, it would be very difficult to replace him.

However, given Perez’s deteriorating form, it is conceivable, but according to Ted Kravitz, Danny Ric will have a difficult time achieving that place. The F1 expert elaborated on the whole scenario. At first, Kravitz explained how beating Yuki Tsunoda will be the first task for the honey badger, “It’s its a really tricky one because this whole plan of coming back could be scuppered by being no quicker than Yuki Tsunoda. And this will be a good deciding value of how much his car and how much is driver, won’t it? This will give us an idea of that old age. If he is amazing, then Checo will be pretty worried actually.”

Later, while explaining the advantage Red Bull has by keeping Sergio Perez in their squad, Kravitz added, “Even though Checo brings a lot of sponsorship and a lot of merchandise opportunities and selling Red Bull stuff in Mexico to Mexican fans. Checo does bring attract sponsorship. There are a few spots in point 2 on the car that came courtesy of, you know red bull’s desire to expand and exploit the South America and the Mexican market that you know he may well be worried if Red Bull decided to go the Ricardo way.”

WATCH THIS STORY:When Daniel Ricciardo Almost Had a Chance to Move to Ferrari

Do you think Daniel Ricciardo has played a gamble to get a seat at AlphaTauri, only to have a fairy tale ending in Red Bull?