Daniel Ricciardo returns to F1 with AlphaTauri

Ricciardo returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver for 2023 after himself being replaced at McLaren by fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri. Now, after six months on the sidelines, Ricciardo will race again in F1, rejoining to the AlphaTauri team that he previously raced for in its Toro Rosso days a decade ago.

The announcement of De Vries’ departure from F1 after just six months follows several weeks of speculation, fuelled by Helmut Marko, that his position was in danger after several poor performances.

It marks a disappointing end to his F1 career, for now, after such a promising debut cameo appearance at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix where he scored points for Williams.

Quite what this means for Ricciardo’s longer-term future remains to be seen, although the rumour mill suggests this could well be the first wake up call to Sergio Perez, who has also suffered a relatively bad run of form since his second win of the year in Azerbaijan compared to runaway championship-leading team-mate Max Verstappen.

Should Ricciardo prove he still has what it takes to compete at the top level in F1, he may well become a contender for that second seat at Red Bull, a seat he vacated at the end of the 2018 season to seek pastures new.

Following a gradual decline of fortunes at both Renault and McLaren, despite a memorable win for the latter at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s stock within the F1 paddock declined rapidly, and his career looked to be all but over after he was dropped by McLaren last year.

For now, he’ll be expected to put up a sterner test for his new team-mate at AlphaTauri, Yuki Tsunoda, as the team bids to lift itself from the bottom of the constructors’ standings.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.