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According to one report, Daniel Ricciardo could back on the grid sooner than expected
Ever since Daniel Ricciardo announced his decision to join Red Bull as a reserve driver after losing his seat at McLaren, there has been speculation about a future return to the grid.
That speculation has gained momentum in recent days, and now according to Motorsport’s French site, he could be in line for a return to the grid this season, replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.
According to the report Helmut Marko has issued a warning to the rookie, following a difficult start to his first full-time season in F1. De Vries has yet to finish in the points — with his best finish a pair of P14s to start the year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia — and has bested teammate Yuki Tsunoda just once in qualifying. We speculated here in recent days that his start to the season could call his future into question, and that could be coming to a head. Reportedly Marko has informed de Vries that if he does not improve his performance in the upcoming trio of races (Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona) then he would be out.
And might just be Ricciardo stepping in.
After all, as part of Ricciardo’s responsibilities this season he will be a reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri at certain races this year. That requirement necessitated a recent seat fitting with AlphaTauri, which has only added more fuel to the speculation regarding a spot on the grid with Red Bull’s sister team this season.
While he has yet to get back in the cockpit of an F1 car this season — Ricciardo is slated for a test run in the RB19 soon at Silverstone — simulator sessions earlier this season with Red Bull reignited the Australian’s passion for the sport. “My first day on the simulator with Red Bull this year was honestly probably the most fun simulator session I’ve ever had,” Ricciardo told Speedcafe. “So, for me to enjoy like the simulator like that meant that it was good to miss it for a little while. And being back in that environment is better than I thought it would be.”
That simulator work has his current boss, Christian Horner, believing the could be back on the grid within “minutes.”
“But having had time off and a chance to reset, when he’s come back and got into the 2023 work, he’s hit the ground running and I think he likes the feel of the car in the virtual world which seems to correlate well with what we’re seeing in the actual world. And I think he’s desperate to get a run in the car at some point to validate that, but we’re certainly seeing him getting back to being far more reminiscent of the Daniel that we knew,” said Horner before the Australian Grand Prix.
“I’d say he’s about 10 minutes away from being ready,” Horner added.
Should AlphaTauri make a change, Ricciardo is not the team’s only option. Liam Lawson is another reserve driver with the team, who is currently driving in Super Formula with Team Mugen.
Then there is Ayumu Iwasa, who won the French Formula 4 title in just his first year of racing in Europe. Iwasa is currently driving in Formula 2 with DAMS, but is a member of the Red Bull junior team. Iwasa might be more of a long-term option for the team, and given his performance to date might be just shy of the points requirement for a FIA Super License. He may be more of a 2024 option for AlphaTauri, after he finishes his current F2 season where he is currently in third place in the standings.
Perhaps this is all sheer speculation, and de Vries is not in danger of being dropped and/or turns his season around over the upcoming three races.
But if there is some merit to these rumors, then Ricciardo might be the best short-term option for the team.
