Christian Horner reveals extent of Daniel Ricciardo ‘third’ driver duties
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Christian Horner (L) and Daniel Ricciardo (R)
In 2023, Daniel Ricciardo will return to Red Bull as a ‘third’ driver. He left the team after 2018, reportedly because he did not want to be a ‘second driver’. He spent two years at Renault, where he performed well, but it was a midfield car, and he decided to go for a better option. Then he went to McLaren, where he struggled to adapt to the car, and was thoroughly outclassed by Lando Norris in both of his seasons with the team. For 2023, the British team opted to move for Oscar Piastri instead.
So, now he’s back to Red Bull. However, what his role as a ‘third’ driver actually entails is rather vague. Both Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have emphasized his marketability, with the former proclaiming him ‘one of the best’ for showruns, so that seems to be the area where he will be utilized the most in. He’s one of the most popular and well-loved drivers on the grid after all. Red Bull junior, Liam Lawson, will also be Red Bull’s reserve driver in 2023, so there is a lack of clarity about what their respective roles are.
In conversation with Speedcafe, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed just what Ricciardo will do for the team in 2023: “Daniel will be attending some races, where, obviously, he will be our ‘reserve’ driver. He’ll probably do a bit of tyre testing for us, to help with the Pirelli program that gets distributed around the teams. He’ll be doing some work in the simulator.”
Horner added: “So, he’ll be doing all of those activities, and then, of course, [help] with the commercial demands that we have with the myriad of sponsors and partners that we have, particularly with a much bigger presence in the US where Daniel is now predominantly based. With three Grands Prix there next year, he’s going to have a busy agenda for the season ahead.”
Christian Horner: Red Bull only planning Daniel Ricciardo as ‘third’ driver
Fans were excited by the prospect of Daniel Ricciardo returning to Red Bull, and some would have been doubtless hoping that he can impress the team and somehow find his way onto the main roster. However, that is rather unlikely: Max Verstappen is contracted through to 2028, while Sergio Perez is contracted through to 2024. If the Mexican driver doesn’t extend beyond that, Red Bull may just choose to bring in a younger driver of theirs, like Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda.
When asked if the team will consider signing Ricciardo to the main team if the ‘situation changed’, Horner reaffirmed that this will not be the case: “We were surprised to see Daniel out on the open market, so us, having grown up with Red Bull, having nurtured since he was a junior, it makes sense for us to bring him back into the fold. [He’s] a driver with so much experience, and such a high profile.”
Horner further elaborated his feeling that Ricciardo had fallen out of love with F1, and while stressing his status as the ‘most recognizable faces’ of Formula 1, he thought the move made sense. He hopes that the ‘Honey Badger’ will rediscover his passion for F1, but Red Bull are only planning for him to be a reserve driver: “We certainly have no plans to utilize him other than in that third driver role combined with the commercial activities that he’ll be performing.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Ricciardo can rediscover his love for the sport and if he can make a comeback to the Formula 1 grid. It’s never an easy task, but it’s not out of the bounds of possibility. He certainly has the talent, he just needs to get back to form. Time will tell if he can do that and if some team will give him another chance in F1.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)