Daniel Ricciardo Is “Next to Max [Verstappen] on the Grid”, Reveals Christian Horner

So everyone knows that Daniel Ricciardo was on the bench for Red Bull after he got axed by McLaren. Ever since then, Ricciardo has wondered if he will ever get to sit behind the wheel of an F1 car again. But midway through the 2023 season, he replaced Nyck de Vries in AlphaTauri and drove again. But why did he exactly replace de Vries?

Daniel Ricciardo was a driver who showed a lot of promise during his initial years with Red Bull. One of the reasons he left the team was his feud that started with Max Verstappen where they both crashed into each other and sabotaged the race. After having an unsuccessful run in Renault and McLaren, Christian Horner took Ricciardo back under his wing, only to let him fly with AlphaTauri.

Red Bull gives Daniel Ricciardo wings

Sitting on the bench was probably the hardest thing Daniel Ricciardo has done in his F1 career. In the latest season of Drive to Survive, the docuseries takes fans behind the scenes to see exactly how Daniel Ricciardo got his seat in AlphaTauri. Christian Horner has been looking at Ricciardo waiting on the bench and decided to put him behind the wheel.

After the Australian’s lap, Horner went to tell other stakeholders, “Okay, so that lap he just did, would’ve put him next to Max on the grid. Looks like he’s the Daniel that we recognize rather than the one I’ve seen the last couple of years.” He then suggested that the Red Bull B team consider him by saying, “Interesting to see what Peter (Bayer) says from AlphaTauri’s point of view. We’d like to see him in the car from the next race.”

Read More – Netflix Excludes Red Bull From Drive to Survive as All 10 Episode Descriptions Get Released

Peter Bayer then replied, “But then, after eight months not being in a car, (this) is quite impressive. And, you know, as we discussed earlier, for us, it’s not only that it’s a fast driver. It’s also that, I think, we can learn a lot from him.” With this, the teams made their decision to put Daniel Ricciardo back on the grid and hope to see him perform as well as Verstappen.

How did Daniel Ricciardo feel to get his wings back?

Upon hearing the news, Daniel Ricciardo was ecstatic; just the usual cheerful Honey Badger, as he got ready to jump into the car. Horner gave him the news saying, “Everybody’s aligned, so as long as you’re up for it…” Ricciardo was happy to get the chance and was excited to get back on the track.

The 50-year-old team principal asked the Australian if he was happy and told him that he got the mojo back while welcoming him back into the team. After being welcomed back into the team, Ricciardo stated, “A year ago, I wasn’t sure if I would race again in F1 or not. It’s exciting, I am really happy. Just give me the car, and I’ll show you on track.”

That being said, do you think Daniel Ricciardo will be able to maintain his mojo into 2024? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.