Red Bull has confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will make an immediate return to Formula 1 as replacement for Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, as reported by RACER.
“I am stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!” said Ricciardo, who is officially on loan from Red Bull.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]
Ricciardo left McLaren at the end of 2022 – a year before the end of his contract – after struggling for form alongside Lando Norris, and returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver this season. He drove a 2023 F1 car for the first time in a tire test at Silverstone today ahead of his return to the race seat at the Hungaroring next weekend.
“It is great to see Daniel hasn’t lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his sim sessions translate on track,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. “His times during the tire test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri.”
De Vries was only given his full debut this year after a one-off appearance for Williams at Monza last season, but has struggled to make an impact in an uncompetitive car.
Ricciardo raced for AlphaTauri in its previous guise of Toro Rosso from 2012 to 2013 before being promoted to Red Bull, where he won seven races over a five-year spell before departing for Renault in 2019.
“I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team,” AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost said.
“There’s no doubt about his driving skill, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straight-forward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner. I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia AlphaTauri, and I wish him all the best for the future.”