Daniel Ricciardo Entirely Credits Comeback to 1 Person After McLaren Harshly Fired Him

“It was a blessing in disguise,” said Daniel Ricciardo after McLaren gave him the pink slip in 2022. Had Ricciardo still been at McLaren like he was initially supposed to, who knows how much damage that would’ve done to him—not just reputationally but also mentally. Since the start of his tenure in Woking, it became clear that McLaren’s cars just weren’t suited to his driving style. He tried to get used to them. He did, but it was never enough. After a point, even he accepted that his future wasn’t at McLaren, but that didn’t make the blow any less painful.

At McLaren, Ricciardo became like a shadow of himself—a dark and sad version of his ever-smiling self. With how agonizing it was to witness from the outside, you can imagine just how difficult it would’ve been for Ricciardo. Ultimately, though, he knew McLaren made the right call, saying, “I thank them for making that decision because we were in a bit of a hole, and I’m not sure we could have got out of it.” As thankful as he was to McLaren, there’s one person he can’t thank enough.

Who brought Daniel Ricciardo back to life?

Speaking about his McLaren sacking, Ricciardo said, “At the time, it was a bit of a harsh reality getting fired. But by the end of the season, when I got home for Christmas, I was like, ‘Okay, it probably doesn’t help my reputation,’ but at that point, I didn’t care anymore. I needed to step away for a bit, to re-find myself, re-find my love for the sport.” When he did step away, he re-found himself at Red Bull—his “home.” And that wouldn’t have been possible without Christian Horner.

Ricciardo drove for Red Bull from 2014 to 2018. It was the team that helped him get to F1. It was the team that established his talent in the sport. And leading that team was Horner. In his five years at Red Bull, they formed a strong bond. So when Ricciardo left and eventually joined McLaren, Horner knew the Aussie wasn’t himself there. Former driver Nico Rosberg said, “Christian Horner was saying that a happy Daniel Ricciardo is a fast Daniel Ricciardo.” Horner found a way to make Ricciardo happy and offered him Red Bull’s reserve driver role at the end of 2022.

Ricciardo talked about all Horner did to show that he still believed in him. As quoted by Goodwood.com, Ricciardo said, “In terms of what I felt coming back into the [Red Bull] family, [Horner’s] investment in me, his interest, the open arms, I feel he’s been a really big supporter. He really wanted me to get back to a level he knows I’m capable of. A lot of people probably lost a little bit of faith in me over the last couple of years. But I felt like the things he was doing to make me comfortable, setting me up with [my old race engineer] Simon [Rennie], he still believes I can do it, and he just wants to see it.”

Read More: “Wasn’t Going Mad”: Christian Horner Reveals Daniel Ricciardo’s Impressive Quality That Stood Out Despite 7 Month Sabbatical

Ricciardo fans. You know who to thank for the Honey Badger’s return. Horner’s played a massive role in Ricciardo’s F1 career, and he’s still doing so. The best part is that he might even make the Aussie’s fairytale ending come true.

Horner is ready to go against Red Bull’s beliefs for Ricciardo

Since returning to Red Bull, Ricciardo has expressed just how much he’d like to race for the works team again. While AlphaTauri has brought him a step closer to that Red Bull seat, he’s still not where he wants to be. For him, capping off his career at Red Bull is his fairytale ending. As a 34-year-old, you may think his chances wouldn’t be too good. Why? Because Red Bull and AlphaTauri are all about getting newer, younger talent into the sport. Ricciardo isn’t particularly young right now. So you can see how that may be a problem for him. Well, Horner’s come to the rescue again!

Sergio Perez has a contract with Red Bull until 2025. Considering he hasn’t been at his best recently, there have been doubts about his future post-2025 (or even earlier). When asked if Ricciardo’s age might be a problem for Red Bull consideration, Horner said,  “I don’t see age as a barrier. If Checo delivers, we’ll keep going with Checo. If he doesn’t, for whatever reason, then it’s… but that won’t be just restricted to AlphaTauri drivers. There’s an awful lot of drivers up and down the pit lane that would like to drive a Red Bull car.” 

It looks like Horner is anticipating a Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull return just as much as the Ricciardo’s fans are. What’s your take on Horner’s efforts to help Ricciardo find himself once again?

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