Well, that escalated quickly…
You might have seen our story on Daniel Ricciardo’s desire to get back into a race seat yesterday, after I spoke to him live on air on Sunday ahead of the British Grand Prix. There appeared to be a real desire to return that hadn’t been as sharp at any point since he left McLaren. I put to him the idea of an AlphaTauri seat in 2024, to which he replied with a smile: “Never know, mate, never know…”
At the time I took it as the first official confirmation he wanted that seat, and thought that was a mini-scoop in itself. How wrong I was.
Fast-forward 48 hours and Ricciardo is back on the Formula 1 grid in place of Nyck de Vries. The official press release from Red Bull states it is “following a strong performance in today’s tire test at Silverstone,” with Christian Horner adding that “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. His times during the tire test were extremely competitive.”
The slip is that the original release stated Wednesday’s tire test, betraying the fact that this was already in place before the tire test even began, ready to go once it was over. Sure, Red Bull might have wanted to see a little bit of proof from Ricciardo in a real car, but it had made its mind up on de Vries. The Dutch media finding out he’d been cut loose on Tuesday morning confirmed it.
That’s harsh, because the Dutchman has been handed a poor car from AlphaTauri this year. Yuki Tsunoda has been praised for great performances just by being able to drag it to 10th place on two occasions; those two points the only score of the season, and leaving the team at the bottom of the constructors’ championship.
De Vries has certainly not had a fair crack at F1 this year, but at the same time, he was brought in by Helmut Marko — despite opposition from Horner — to judge if he was the real deal right away. His performance for Williams in Monza last year suggested he could be, and Red Bull was looking for a driver who could keep Sergio Perez on his toes.
It turned out the Williams was just hugely competitive in Italy, where Alex Albon was gutted to miss out on the race after suffering from appendicitis. Replicating such stunning results was always going to be tough for de Vries, but he hadn’t managed to deliver even a flash of his potential up to now and that’s what’s cost him. 1-0 to Horner.
And it’s with that ruthlessness that Ricciardo’s return needs to be viewed.
The Australian wasn’t planning on racing this year, partly because he knew the car and the situation would hardly give him a chance to shine. Next year, when the collaboration with Red Bull is going to be even closer, he would be keen to get back in the cockpit full-time. But Marko and Red Bull don’t work that way.
Horner wanted Ricciardo to get a chance to show what he’s got in the AlphaTauri, while Marko remained unconvinced. The latter canvassed opinions in the paddock, but was never going to let anyone else dictate the timing. If Ricciardo really still has what it takes, he has to show it immediately.
It must have become clear to the 34-year-old that if he didn’t take the seat now he wouldn’t get another shot at it. Red Bull has been impressed with Tsunoda this year, but not to the extent he would be considered for Perez’s seat (when Perez was ill in Austria it would have been de Vries who was promoted, as Tsunoda hasn’t had a seat fitting with the constructors’ champions), so Ricciardo has to show he’s a better option.
Marko wants Perez to sort out his Saturday woes, and Perez knows he needs to improve but didn’t have to fear either of the drivers at AlphaTauri coming for his seat. If Ricciardo performs, then he becomes a future candidate for a remarkable return alongside Max Verstappen at some stage.
If he doesn’t, Marko can tell Horner it’s 1-1 and Ricciardo’s time with Red Bull will likely be over.
While Ricciardo has impressed in the simulator and back in an environment he achieved success in the past in, it will count for nothing if he can’t translate that into race performances. It’s make or break, and just as de Vries faced, the odds aren’t exactly stacked in his favor.
To use his own words, Ricciardo has been “hanging out” to get this opportunity again in recent weeks, as he regains his confidence and the desire to be back racing in F1.
“I’m letting it all happen as it comes and I have confidence I’ll be back on the grid at some point,” he said on Sunday.
Well it has come to him all right, but now he has to go and grab what will almost certainly be his last opportunity to earn himself a front-running seat again.