‘Enough for first row’
Daniel Ricciardo will return to Formula 1 as a driver next weekend. He gets into Nyck de Vries’ car with the AlphaTauri team. Is there possibly even a comeback at Red Bull in the barrel later? Team boss Christian Horner certainly thinks Ricciardo’s speed is promising.
Daniel Ricciardo got the chance last week to prove to Red Bull that he is still fast enough. In a tire test for Pirelli at Silverstone, he was allowed to give the RB19 the spurs. The pace that Ricciardo showed then would have been the deciding factor in immediately putting him in the place of the disappointing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri. Dr. Helmut Marko would have received a call from Christian Horner about the times set by the eight-time GP winner and immediately took the plunge.
Horner now reveals exactly how fast Ricciardo was in the official Formula 1 podcast. “In his third or fourth lap he was already within a second of the times our drivers drove. His first real run on tires that were comparable, about his seventh lap of the day, had put him on the front row, which was hugely impressive,” said the Red Bull team boss.
Promising for the Australian. Should Sergio Pérez start to worry already? Horner says not, according to him ‘Max and Checo are of course just the drivers for Red Bull for next year’. Ricciardo seems to have a chance for the next year. “It’s always good to have talent in reserve. He wants to be pitch for the 2025 seat at Red Bull, that is his golden goal. At AlphaTauri, he believes he has his best chance to prove himself before 2025.”
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