Witty, optimistic, and a speed demon, Daniel Ricciardo was one of the most friendly and feared drivers on the grid. The Australian driver was tipped to challenge for the title in his Red Bull days. However, his career choices have arguably let him down massively as he returns to Red Bull as their reserve driver.

Despite his tough spell in McLaren, Daniel never stopped smiling and didn’t act in an unprofessional manner once. Ricciardo’s misery was cut short by the Woking team as they ended his contract a year early on a mutual basis.

But McLaren’s team principal has been appreciative of the Australian even after enduring a difficult phase. After Daniel’s strongest result [P5] this season in Singapore, Andreas Seidl said, “I guess Daniel has shown today, in these tricky conditions, that he is – and we have never doubted – still a natural top driver”

Now, talking to The Race, Andreas Seidl has again praised their former driver. He expressed, “It was difficult to have all these open and honest discussions about the situation we were in. At the same time, I really appreciated the way Daniel handled the situation with me.” [Translated from Google]

He further added, “It showed what a world-class man he is in terms of character and personality because we have all experienced situations in the past where such challenges can also tear a team apart.”

These are surely great words for Ricciardo to hear. But is it too late for that now?

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Ricciardo finished P9 in his final race for the Papaya team. Furthermore, he ended his season in P11 in the driver’s championship leapfrogging Sebastian Vettel on the final day.

Daniel Ricciardo explains his move to join Red Bull

After ditching the chance to race next season with an F1 team, Ricciardo opted to return to his old team, Red Bull. The Aussie driver has explained his rationale about joining a top team rather than driving for one of the backmarkers.

Speaking with Speedcafe.com, Daniel said, “If there’s not a seat with them, potentially they can help find a seat elsewhere. Also, being linked with a top team, a bit like [Nyck] de Vries was with Mercedes, you’re living with a top team – I feel like you’re more, I don’t want to use the word relevance, but you’re kind of more recognized and less forgotten.”

“So there’s a lot of things.”

Nyck de Vries earned the plaudits from many after his heroic performance for Williams in Monza this year. He substituted for Alex Albon after he was scheduled to get operated on for appendicitis. He finished inside points and showed his mettle to the F1 world.

Daniel will be hoping for the same in his Red Bull stint as their third driver. However, he will have to remain patient for his chance.

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The F1 fans will miss the always-smiling Daniel Ricciardo on the grid. But it will be interesting to see whether The Honey Badger gets another chance to drive an F1 car in the future.