“If I Do Start…”: Daniel Ricciardo Reveals the Only Way He Will Make Red Bull F1 Return

The last race of the 2022 F1 season at Abu Dhabi bid farewell to four drivers. One among them was Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo, who gave up his McLaren seat to his younger compatriot Oscar Piastri, had to leave the team prematurely. In doing so, the Australian made a comeback to Red Bull, as he failed to find a suitable F1 seat that met his criteria. Now, as a reserve driver at Red Bull, the man that’s all smiles hinted at the only way he could make a return to the top with Red Bull.

In a recent interview with ESPN’s Unlapped, Ricciardo shared his thoughts on his role on the Austrian team and his future endeavors as a whole. He told, “You know my reference, for now, will be a simulator but if I do start to feel like comfortable on the sim and I think it will like fuel that fire.”

“I’m gonna take my time with it, I don’t wanna kind of jump to a decision early in the season and this is like oh yeah like this is where I want to be for ’24, I just wanna let it happen,” further stated the former McLaren driver.

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Daniel Ricciardo was present at Red Bull Racing’s livery launch in New York, United States. One of the team’s elite members, Ricciardo, was there to see the brand new RB19 get unveiled. While he stood next to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, he got emotional about missing out on F1 action.

Daniel Ricciardo expects to get along with the new RB19 despite changes

Known for his late braking and shoey celebration, Daniel Ricciardo was a menace to the opposition during his prime at Red Bull. The man with elite speed and car control won multiple races with the Austrian constructors until he decided to leave. As the decision stayed, the 33-year-old moved to Renault [now Alpine] in 2019.

After seeing multiple highs and lows in the sport, the Honey Badger made his much-anticipated comeback to Milton Keynes this year. As he gears up to spend the 2023 season as their reserve driver behind Verstappen and Perez, Ricciardo expects the car to feel comfortable.

Talking about this, he stated, “I also expect to feel comfortable in this car but I think it has changed, so I don’t want to think it’s exactly the 2018 car I drove, but yeah I’m sure there will be some things about it which I’m like oh yeah this is now doing what I like.”

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During his time at Red Bull, Ricciardo won seven Grand Prix as he took home a staggering 29 trophies in total. All in all, Ricciardo with Red Bull has been a different breed, altogether. If he is given a seat, can he recreate his brilliance from years ago?