When Daniel Ricciardo left Formula 1 after the 2022 season, it was like he’d lost the drive to continue, like he’d lost his love for the sport. And that’s what happened. So when he got the call from Red Bull to become its reserve driver, he thought working with the team and going back “home” would help him fall back in love with F1. While sitting on the sidelines and watching Red Bull win race after race brought back some of his drive, he credited two-time MVP—one of which came at Superbowl LVII—Patrick Mahomes for inspiring his F1 return.

In an interview with F1 after AlphaTauri’s announcement, Ricciardo discussed what made him want to race again. He said, “It was probably around the time I went to the Super Bowl. And I think being in a competitive environment.” Nothing gets more competitive than the Super Bowl. And watching the Kansas City Chiefs come back from a 10-point deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, Ricciardo said, “That was where I started getting some of those feelings back. I could feel a lot of it, and I was like, ‘this feeling hasn’t gone yet,’ like I would just want to be under the lights and just compete right now.” 

And the Honey Badger officially returned to F1 last night at the Hungarian GP. After starting in 13th, Ricciardo finished the race in the same position. While it might not seem like a good result, finishing 13th wasn’t straightforward for the Aussie. Following a good start from the line, he was back-ended while going into Turn 1, which made him fall to the back of the grid. Getting in an incident in the first few meters of his first F1 race after eight months? That wasn’t the way he wanted to restart his career. In a post-race interview, he said, “It’s like your first NFL game. Someone’s going to put a big tackle on you just to welcome you to the sport.”

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As the Chief’s quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has gotten accustomed to being tackled. And, well, Ricciardo compared his incident with Zhou Guanyu and the Alpines at Turn 1 to the tackles quarterbacks are often subjected to. But in a way, it was good for Ricciardo because he got the entire experience in his first race back—a good start, a crash that led to a setback, fighting through the field, taking care of his tires, finishing in a convincing position, and beating his teammate. It was exactly what he would expect an NFL player’s first game to be like—tough, hard-fought, and, most importantly, a learning experience, which is why Ricciardo focused on the positives after the Hungarian GP.

Daniel Ricciardo learned a lot about the AT04

After his crash with Zhou’s Alfa Romeo on the first lap, Ricciardo dropped to the back of the field. But it made for a good learning experience because it allowed him to try different strategies and understand how the AT04 works in different situations. In his post-race interview, he said, “It was disappointing just to be out of position from the start with that incident. And I was immediately disappointed, but then the next thought was, ‘Please don’t have damage.’ I need this race. I need to learn the car.” 

Fortunately for him, he didn’t have significant damage, and even though he was at the back after Lap 1, his pit stop strategies and the AT04’s surprising pace in clean air ensured he finished in 13th. After the race, he said to his engineer, “Obviously, a shame with turn 1, but in clear air, we had a bit to show. Lots to learn. Thanks for the first weekend.” With the next race in less than a week, he would hope to analyze and learn as much as he can about his car before F1 races again in Belgium.

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How would you rate Daniel Ricciardo’s first race back?