Christian Horner claims Daniel Ricciardo looked ‘broken’ after McLaren exit before Red Bull came to his rescue
The Red Bull Chief Christian Horner revealed that Daniel Ricciardo was broken when McLaren ousted him before his comeback to Red Bull.
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After sitting out for six months, Daniel Ricciardo is back in an F1 vehicle. The Australian racer joined his Former Team Red Bull as a 3rd driver after being ousted from McLaren last year. Now, Daniel has been surprisingly appointed for a seat in the AlphaTauri. Ricciardo’s Boss from Red Bull, Christian Horner, commented on how the Australian was broken when he first recruited him at the end of 2022. Horner said, “The ball started rolling in a hotel room in Mexico last year. I had an appointment with Daniel, making it clear that his options for 2023 were limited. He looked broken.“
Daniel Ricciardo was previously recruited under Red Bull till he decided to leave them for a record-setting contract deal with Renault in 2019. This led the fans to wonder why Christian Horner chose to take up the Hobey Badger once again as a simulator driver, allowing him to support the team that he had once deserted.
Giving an explanation to why Horner decided to give the racer who has already got experience with two hundred Grands Prix and has eight race wins under his belt too, the Briton said, “Well, why don’t we get him to come back to Red Bull for 12 months, out of the car, predominantly, help us with simulation work, bit of tire testing, and, you know, just come back and re-find his passion for the sport. Because it was clear that he was not enjoying…to be honest I did not really recognize Daniel over the last couple of years. So, that’s where it started.”
Daniel Ricciardo has to re-establish his dominance of he wants to survive in F1
Before being promoted to Red Bull, Ricciardo competed with AlphaTauri under the Toro Rosso name in 2012 and 2013. He says he hopes to obtain a car there that he can connect with. The Red Bull RB19 is by far faster than the AlphaTauri AT04, which is undoubtedly the slowest vehicle on the grid this year. However, Ricciardo is hoping that the car will be predictable when he jumps in mid-season with no testing time.
Most of the drivers do not get a second chance at entering Formula One after being axed, and those who come back, certainly don’t join a top-tier team like Red Bull. Daniel Ricciardo has gotten the chance in his grabs already. Now, all eyes will be on him as he makes his AlphaTauri debut at Hungaroring as it might be a make or break situation for the rest of Ricciardo’s F1 career.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)