Daniel Ricciardo will take AlphaTauri's place in Hungary. Credit: Getty Images/Ben Stansall
Daniel Ricciardo will return to Formula One for the next round of the 2023 championship in Hungary after replacing struggling Nick de Vries at AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo is joining sister team Red Bull on a season-long loan deal from Red Bull, where he is currently a reserve driver. The popular Aussie left McLaren at the end of last season — his contract was terminated a year early by mutual agreement — completely lost in Woking. He was replaced at McLaren by Australian Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo made no secret of his desire to return to the starting grid, saying he had «unfinished business» in the sport. And he reportedly impressed at the Pirelli tire test at Silverstone on Tuesday. The Australian said he was «excited to be back on the track with the Red Bull family.»
Red Bull said in a statement: “Daniel Ricciardo will be driving after good results in Wednesday's tire test at Silverstone. for Scuderia AlphaTauri with immediate effect. By joining Scuderia on loan from Oracle Red Bull Racing, Daniel will take part in his first race in Budapest.»
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner added: «It's good to see that Daniel hasn't lost form while out of action. in racing, and that the progress he has made on his simulators shows up on the track.”
“His timing during the tire test was extremely competitive. It's been a very impressive ride and we're excited to see what the rest of the season will bring Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri.»
The 28-year-old De Vries had a tough first half of his first season in F1 and his best finish was a 12th at Monaco in May. His development was hampered by a series of setbacks, most notably an avoidable crash in Azerbaijan when he crashed his AlphaTauri into a tire wall during Friday practice and was then forced to retire from the Grand Prix when he broke his suspension after hitting a wall.
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko publicly criticized him, saying that he received a «yellow card» after the incidents in Baku.
Telegraph Sports analysis It's easy to see why this is a good move. for all parties involved
Tom Carey
There is no small irony that Daniel Ricciardo left the struggling McLaren team, insisting that he was not interested in joining a team at the bottom of the grid, only to end up in AlphaTauri, which currently supports constructors championship. Meanwhile, the team he left, McLaren, now has one of the fastest cars in the field, judging by Sunday's British Grand Prix.
You can see why Ricciardo left. And why AlphaTauri took him. And why Red Bull wanted him in a race car again.
The fact is that Riccardo has vast experience — he is an eight-time Grand Prix winner. Just as importantly, he is hugely popular with fans all over the world. It's just an anecdote, but I was told that at Silverstone last weekend, the Australian received one of the loudest applause — second only to Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris — when he was introduced to the audience on stage.
Earlier this year, when Red Bull unveiled their car in New York, Ricciardo was rolled out to the Jimmy Kimmel show, not Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez. He has a big name and personality.
Does he still have it? Giving him six months to see what he can do in AlphaTauri, Red Bull finds out about it while putting some serious pressure on the underperforming Sergio Pérez.
De Vries has certainly taken a rough hand. 10 races to find yourself in Formula 1 in a bad car. The Dutchman's name wasn't even mentioned in the AlphaTauri press release announcing Riccardo's arrival, which was pretty brutal. But equally, he didn't pull the trees and offered little to the brand out of the car (AlphaTauri is currently undergoing a big rebrand with Franz Tost leaving at the end of the season and a new management team coming in). Liam Lawson, one of Red Bull's young thrusters, may consider himself equally unfortunate, and one could argue that Ricciardo's appointment shows little confidence in their own program. But you can see why it makes sense for all parties.
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