F1 News
Ricciardo back in F1 for Red Bull with AlphaTauri: This is how his comeback went
- Sam Godber
Daniel Ricciardo will return to the Formula 1 field in just over a week's time after six months away. The Australian replaces the sacked Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, making his first return to racing for a Red Bull Racing team since 2018. Here's how Ricciardo made his comeback for the Austrian team.
Ricciardo leaves for Renault
About halfway through the 2018 season, the surprising news came out that Ricciardo would leave Red Bull at the end of that season. The Australian made the switch to Renault (now Alpine). At the Austrian team, the 34-year-old driver reportedly felt he would become the second driver next to Max Verstappen, and Ricciardo did not want that. So Verstappen's old teammate decided to switch to Renault, which was then fighting for the spots behind Mercedes, Ferrari and old love Red Bull. In the end, Ricciardo scored two podiums for the French team, finishing third at both the Nürnbergring and Imola, the eight-time Grand Prix winner.
Ricciardo makes switch to McLaren
Ricciardo was supposed to become the face of Renault and bring the team back to the top, but this came to an end after just two years: the Australian left for McLaren's team. Ricciardo signed a three-year contract, i.e. until 2023. However, the collaboration between the British team and Ricciardo did not go as hoped, after which 34-year-old driver left McLaren a year earlier than planned. The former Red Bull driver was replaced by emerging talent and compatriot Oscar Piastri.
Somehow, the partnership between the driver from Australia and McLaren did not work. At both Red Bull and Renault, Ricciardo showed excellent speed, but at the British team, Ricciardo was almost always beaten by teammate Lando Norris and it was more than obvious that Ricciardo was struggling. However, the new AlphaTauri driver did manage to score a victory with McLaren. In Italy in 2021, Ricciardo took victory ahead of Norris and Valtteri Bottas after Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed.
Ricciardo returns to old love Red Bull
Before 2023, Ricciardo was without a seat in Formula 1 and eventually Verstappen's old teammate returned to his team where his success began: Red Bull Racing. Here, the Australian became the third driver, behind Verstappen and Sergio Perez. On Tuesday, it became clear that Ricciardo did not have to fill this role for long, as after six months' absence from the F1 grid, Ricciardo is already returning in Hungary, with AlphaTauri.