Nico Rosberg SLAMS Daniel Ricciardo’s bold bid to reclaim Red Bull seat

Sergio Perez's Red Bull contract terminates at the end of the 2024 season.

Nico Rosberg SLAMS Daniel Ricciardo’s bold bid to reclaim Red Bull seat

Daniel Ricciardo (Image credit: PlanetF1) and Nico Rosberg (Image credit: Autoracing)

Daniel Ricciardo left McLaren last season to join Red Bull Racing as a reserve driver, hoping to rediscover his form. He wanted to return to the F1 grid, ideally with Red Bull. Surprisingly, he returned with Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri, replacing Nyck de Vries. Ricciardo saw this as a chance to prove himself once again.

Nico Rosberg shared his viewpoint on Daniel Ricciardo’s comments, suggesting that it was not essential for Ricciardo to be so explicit about his desire to rejoin Red Bull Racing. Speaking to Sky Sports, the 2016 World Champion mentioned that this straightforward approach could create unnecessary pressure and higher expectations for Ricciardo. Rosberg believed he would have handled the situation differently.

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“The only thing one thing I would say it’s unnecessary that Daniel makes it so clear that he’s here to get back into the Red Bull Racing team,” Rosberg said in Sky F1 podcast. “It’s unnecessary extra pressure that he set himself and, expectations. I would have played that a bit differently.”

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Also read: Helmut Marko gives his honest opinion on Daniel Ricciardo’s Hungarian GP performance with AlphaTauri

Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri stint sparks rumors of a Red Bull comeback

Daniel Ricciardo (Image credit: Autosport)

Daniel Ricciardo’s aspirations of returning to Red Bull Racing have been evident, using his time at AlphaTauri as an audition for Sergio Perez‘s seat. With Perez’s recent underwhelming performances, there have been speculations that Ricciardo might even replace him next season. However, Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor, Helmut Marko, asserts that Perez’s contract runs until 2024.

Daniel Ricciardo will need to deliver outstanding performances to be considered for the seat in the future. Ricciardo showcased his capabilities during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, securing P13, marking AlphaTauri’s first Q2 appearance since the Spanish Grand Prix, while Yuki Tsunoda achieved P17. The Honey Badger even out-qualified his teammate in his first run with the team.

Since 2016, Daniel Ricciardo had been Max Verstappen‘s teammate at Red Bull Racing until 2018, when he surprised everyone by leaving the team to join Renault. Unfortunately, the move didn’t yield the results he had hoped for. Seeking a fresh start, Ricciardo switched to McLaren in 2021, partnering with Lando Norris.

Despite securing a race victory at Monza, the McLaren journey didn’t unfold as he had envisioned. Consequently, after the 2022 season, Ricciardo’s contract was paid off, and Oscar Piastri replaced him.

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