Daniel Ricciardo is risking his career by going up against Yuki Tsunoda, claims Helmut Marko

Daniel Ricciardo will not have it easy on the track following his dramatic return to F1.

Daniel Ricciardo is risking his career by going up against Yuki Tsunoda, claims Helmut Marko

Daniel Ricciardo (Credits: PlanetF1), Helmut Marko (Credits: PlanetF1) and Yuki Tsunoda (Credits: Motorsport.com)

As the Hungarian GP approaches, all eyes will be on AlphaTauri as Daniel Ricciardo returns to the track for the Faenza-based team. The 34-year-old is one of the most experienced drivers, with 32 career podium finishes.

Fans expect that he would outperform his predecessor, Nyck De Vries, who didn’t manage to score a single point in 10 races. But Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko’s words have brought these expectations to the ground.

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Seeing the little competition the AT04 poses to other cars on the circuit, Helmut Marko downplayed Red Bull’s decision by saying that Ricciardo is taking a big risk by accepting to drive the car. He admitted that Yuki Tsunoda’s current form does not help the Honey Badger.

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“It’s something completely different from what he had imagined. AlphaTauri is last in the standings. Knowing that Yuki Tsunoda is not a slow driver, Daniel is risking a lot. But he is willing to do it ,” Marko is quoted saying by formulapassion.it.

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AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda is disgruntled over Helmut Marko’s decision to sack teammate Nyck De Vries

Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries
Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries (Credits: GPblog)

Nyck De Vries’ run for AlphaTauri did not go as he might have dreamed. The 28-year-old was fired in just ten races going into the season without scoring even a single point. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda gave his honest opinion regarding Helmut Marko’s decision for the Dutchman.

Marko’s reason for axing De Vries was his pace. The Austrian claimed that De Vries was expected to be at least equal to his teammate. But far from approaching this result, he was always three-tenths slower than Tsunoda. But the Japanese driver begs to differ.

 “I had an enjoyable time over the past ten races with Nyck. I learned from him, and we also had a good time away from the track. He had plenty of experience in other categories and gave the team good feedback based on his knowledge. He had the pace, and, as a friend, I enjoyed my time with him,” said Tsunoda.

While he is not happy with the firing of De Vries, Tsunoda also expressed how he looks forward to working with Daniel Ricciardo. The 23-year-old says he has much to learn from him and can contribute more to the team.

“I think I’ll benefit from having a very good, experienced driver as a team-mate. I’m sure I can learn lots of things from him and I also expect he will be able to bring something to the team and move the car development forward.”, he added.

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