Will Daniel Ricciardo find himself in the worst car on the grid?

Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo's move to AlphaTauri as a mid-season replacement for Nyck de Vries is an opportunity for him to prove that he still possesses the swashbuckling, race-winning talent that earned him acclaim in previous years. Despite facing a big challenge ahead, it is not solely due to the competitiveness of the car.

While drivers naturally prefer faster cars, if Ricciardo's primary goal is to demonstrate his skills and capabilities once again, then the AlphaTauri can serve this purpose. A driver's performance can be assessed within the context of their machinery, and placing a Formula 1 car in Q2 when it should realistically be 18th on the grid is akin to achieving pole position from that perspective.

However, there are concerns related to driving uncompetitive cars with significant flaws. The Alfa Romeo has demonstrated similar pace compared to AlphaTauri recently but has been praised by its drivers for its balanced handling characteristics. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have described it as pleasant enough despite lacking speed.

On the other hand, feedback regarding the handling of the AlphaTauri has been less positive. Since early 2023, rear-end instability during late-entry phases into slower corners coupled with understeer in mid-corner transitions have plagued this car. Although some improvements were made through a major Silverstone upgrade targeting these issues—yielding results largely aligned with expectations—neither Yuki Tsunoda nor De Vries expressed overwhelming enthusiasm for the changes.

Ricciardo's struggles at McLaren were largely a result of driving cars with peculiar characteristics that baffled him. Despite putting in tremendous effort to adapt his driving style, which had been honed during his years with Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing, he found himself lost at McLaren and unable to fully adjust. The damage caused was evident when he first stepped into the Red Bull F1 simulator; however, gradually, the driver who Red Bull once knew began to resurface.

Although there were differences between the limitations of 2021 and 2022 McLarens, one recurring issue Ricciardo faced involved under-rotation during corner entry due to problematic corner-entry characteristics. This was sometimes attributed to not being able to attack corners aggressively enough or because understeer had been dialled in as a compromise for rear stability. Nevertheless, these issues resulted in lost lap time compared to teammate Lando Norris in a car that Norris described as being on a "knife edge" last year.

The corner-entry phase is crucial for extracting optimal performance from any Formula 1 car since it pushes the limits of both driver skill and mechanical capabilities—especially with complex machinery like modern Grand Prix cars. Unfortunately, AlphaTauri's behaviour does little to inspire confidence. In instances where similar problems afflicted their AT03 model last season, Pierre Gasly experienced significant compromises on pace.

It remains uncertain how Ricciardo will respond to these challenges; perhaps if he can address instability during late-entry phases by finding his preferred setup for initial turn-in phases, it could mitigate this issue altogether. In an ideal scenario where Ricciardo can drive confidently without battling inherent car deficiencies throughout various stages of corners, he may once again resemble the formidable driver fans have sorely missed witnessing on race weekends.

Such an outcome would be beneficial not only for Ricciardo but also for F1 enthusiasts who appreciate watching drivers perform at their best. On the other hand, struggling in yet another car that inhibits his natural driving style would be the worst-case scenario. The possibilities span a wide spectrum between these two extremes, making Ricciardo's journey with AlphaTauri a captivating one to observe.

While Ricciardo approaches this opportunity pragmatically and does not expect miracles, he sets high standards for himself as any driver aiming to banish the ghosts of past disappointments would. With his exceptional talent despite enduring two challenging seasons at McLaren, there is every chance that Ricciardo can succeed. However, it is worth noting that he may have landed himself in the most formidable car on the grid when it comes to revitalizing a career that still holds tremendous potential.