Ricciardo Returns to F1 with AlphaTauri: Ready to Rediscover the "Old Me"

It's been quite a journey for Daniel Ricciardo since he made his Formula 1 debut with Hispania Racing back in 2011. From Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) to Red Bull Racing, where he secured seven of his eight Grand Prix wins, and then McLaren for two seasons. Now, after departing from McLaren at the end of 2022 and taking on a reserve role at Red Bull for this year, Ricciardo is gearing up for another chapter in his F1 career as he returns full-time with AlphaTauri.

Speaking to F1's journalist Lawrence Barretto ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend where he won in 2014 with Red Bull Racing, Ricciardo expressed his excitement about getting back behind the wheel and how being part of the Red Bull family has helped him rediscover himself.

Riccardo admitted that during his time at McLaren, some of his confidence had diminished due to various challenges. However now that he has reunited with familiar faces within the team and spent time working in their simulator program once again it feels like home.

"Then getting back on the sim, I was still a bit unsure how it was going to go" said Daniel when discussing if things would feel as they did before or would have changed significantly during such times away from driving an actual car. He continued saying "Once I’d done a few sim sessions and started feeling like myself again, it then just kind of brought me back to normal Daniel, where I was falling back in love and ready to go again.”.

Looking ahead to his partnership with Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri, Ricciardo recognizes that the car will have its limitations. Nonetheless, he is optimistic that if the car feels balanced and has a good level of grip, he can work with it and help develop it as well.

"I think if it’s a car that feels balanced – it might not have as much grip as the Red Bull I drove a few days ago – that’s something I can work with."

While Ricciardo understands the challenge AlphaTauri faces in terms of scoring points this season, he remains motivated to push himself and try to get the team into the top 10 consistently. He knows that delivering strong results could potentially open doors for him within Red Bull in future seasons.

"That was it, ‘If you get results, we’ll keep pushing you'. That’s really like my mindset," said Ricciardo when discussing how his performance at AlphaTauri could lead to opportunities with Red Bull Racing once again.

The Australian driver is thrilled about his return and ready to have fun on track again. As he prepares for his first race back at Hungary's Hungaroring circuit this weekend - where fans can expect plenty of excitement from him - Daniel expresses enthusiasm about using more right foot than left and enjoying every moment behind the wheel.