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Daniel Ricciardo is one of the most popular driver’s in all of Formula 1.
In 2021, fans voted the ever-smiling and affable Aussie as the series’ fourth most-liked driver, behind champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as well as rising star Lando Norris.
Despite the popularity, Ricciardo was out of luck when it came to finding a spot on the grid in 2023.
Ricciardo and his former team, McLaren, agreed to a buyout of the final year of his contract. In his spot, McLaren put another highly touted Australian, 22-year-old prospect Oscar Piastri.
This left the 34-year-old Ricciardo searching for a new home for the third time in five years.
As it turns out, Ricciardo’s new home was actually an old home. He returned to Red Bull Racing, where he made his name and won seven grand prix from 2014-2018.
Ricciardo signed on to be the team’s test (and, if needed, substitute) driver for the season with aims of returning to the grid in 2024.
As it turns out, he won’t have to wait that long.
AlphaTauri, formerly known as Scuderia Toro Rosso, where Ricciardo began his F1 career, is in effect a feeder team for Red Bull. Red Bull owns the team and has a significant say in who drives for the team.
In 2023, those drivers were former Red Bull development driver Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Nyck De Vries. But the team has struggled mightily through 11 races and sits last in the Constructors Standings with just two points. Both of those points belong to Tsunoda, while De Vries sits dead last in the drivers standings and is one of two drivers with zero points alongside American rookie Logan Sargeant of Williams.’
On Monday, Alpha Tauri (or, more likely, Red Bull) made the drastic call to replace with De Vries with Ricciardo.
Daniel is back! 👊@danielricciardo, on loan from @redbullracing, will be racing for us for the remainder of the #F1 season, starting from the Hungarian GP.
Read more 👇
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) July 11, 2023
Fans were excited for Ricciardo’s return. But many also felt De Vries didn’t get a fair shake.
Happy for Daniel but exceptionally harsh on Nyck. As I’ve said, think this has more to do with applying pressure to PER while assessing potential RIC return to RBR, or how TSU fares against a known quantity, than Nyck himself. https://t.co/3v2ISgxd3b
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) July 11, 2023
As bad as I feel for De Vries…this still got me going: https://t.co/UJybyB5SgZ pic.twitter.com/wezRVnQ3dy
— Lightshock16 (@LS16Gaming) July 11, 2023
Don’t even know what to think. Feel for Nyck but this is red bull getting an opportunity to see if DR is good enough to get back in that red bull. I’ve got a feeling Yuki will beat him with some ease… https://t.co/ghEl07tuFQ
— Josh Lemina (@Lem_WWFC) July 11, 2023
I’m so happy for daniel seriously and I wanted him to join f1 again desperately, but I can’t be ecstatic abt this becuz I feel so bad for nyck https://t.co/4ybQw13PWV
— Summer🏎️🏍️ (@summer55sainz) July 11, 2023
Many others believe Ricciardo could return to Red Bull alongside Verstappen in 2023 should current teammate Sergio Perez not improve his performance.
Daniel Ricciardo is back with Red Bull (AlphaTauri)!
Checo is gonna have a target on his back if he isn't performing 👀 pic.twitter.com/jLL1dJtCFp
— RG | Ꮆrimmity (@Grimmity) July 11, 2023
Will Daniel Ricciardo take Checo’s seat next year? pic.twitter.com/JnawZqN0ly
— FanAmp – The Home for F1 Fans (@Join_FanAmp) July 11, 2023
Ricciardo and Verstappen were teammates from 2016-18. While the two get along now, it wasn’t always that way on the track. This led to Ricciardo leaving for Renault in 2019.
Could he make a return five years later? We’ll have to wait and see.