Christian Horner claims Daniel Ricciardo ‘apologized’ to him during the pandemic for leaving Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo is currently racing for the AlphaTauri Formula 1 team.

Christian Horner claims Daniel Ricciardo ‘apologized’ to him during the pandemic for leaving Red Bull

Christian Horner and Daniel Ricciardo (Via IMAGO)

Daniel Ricciardo has had a love-hate relationship with the Red Bull Formula 1 team. There was a time when Ricciardo was an extremely crucial member, but after the arrival of Max Verstappen, he kind of played second fiddle. While he is with Alphatauri, Christian Horner has claimed that during the coronavirus pandemic, Ricciardo apologized to him for leaving the Austrian team at the end of 2018.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen made an extremely strong line-up for Red Bull during their time together. They were a force to reckon with, but as Verstappen was rising the ladder at a meteoric pace, Ricciardo, on the other hand, was struggling, which ultimately led to his decision to leave Red Bull in favor of Renault.

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Christian Horner recently sat down for the eff won with DRS podcast and, while talking about Ricciardo’s apology to him during the pandemic. Looking at the reaction of Horner, it is quite clear that Ricciardo, somewhere deep down in his heart, regretted his decision to leave the Milton-Keynes-based Red Bull Formula 1 team.

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And then actually was during the pandemic. He called me and he said. Christian, I hate to say this to you, but you were absolutely right and I apologize and oh, that's nice, and so on. We've always had a good relationship. He's a good guy and he's just, he was just badly advised at the time.

Daniel Ricciardo could be seen back in the Red Bull setup during 2025

While Christian Horner has made it known that Daniel Ricciardo apologized to him during the pandemic for leaving Red Bull, the latter’s main goal since returning to the F1 grid is to secure the second Red Bull seat in the upcoming years. Sergio Perez‘s current deal will close at the end of 2024.

Daniel Ricciardo (Credits: Planet F1)
Daniel Ricciardo (Credits: Planet F1)

The Australian has found himself at home since joining the AlphaTauri team and has impressed everyone with his performances. Christian Horner showered immense praise on him during the Mexican weekend and admitted that he saw glimpses of the world-class driver he was for Red Bull.

While Daniel Ricciardo has made it his goal to get back into the Red Bull fold by 2025, there are no guarantees that he will be able to do it. The Red Bull seat is a highly sought-after drive and is most probably going to have quite a few people in contention to secure the seat.

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