'I understand this is my journey back, this is my process and the path, and I'm ready to embrace it'. 😤 Here's why Daniel Ricciardo is making his F1 comeback with a team on bottom. 9WWOS F1
at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of last season. In fact, his tyre test for Red Bull last week was the first time since then he had driven an F1 car full stop, and was the only time he had done so before he drove out for free practice in Budapest on Friday evening .For the record, Ricciardo finished Friday in P14. But on a day heavily influenced by weather , it's impossible to determine where exactly be sits in the pecking order.
It was with this Italian team – then known as Toro Rosso – Ricciardo first embarked on his first full season as an F1 driver in 2012. He finished the season 18th, with a best result of ninth, which he achieved four times over the course of the season, including at the first race of the year in Melbourne.
"I did a seat fit and check there earlier in the season, and there are a few familiar faces … it was a decade ago I raced there," Ricciardo told F1.com last week. Ricciardo drove for the senior team for five years between 2014-2018, before departing for a full-blown factory drive at Renault – now Alpine – for 2019. He announced before the pandemic-delayed 2020 season that he would join McLaren on a three-year deal for the 2021 season.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with Daniel Ricciardo during the tyre test at Silverstone. "And that 'first' lap, on probably what was his seventh lap on the day, would have put him on the front row of the grid, so that was hugely impressive," Horner said."I mentioned to him 'that would have put you on the front row of the grid', and you could see almost the relief in his eyes. It almost was like the pressure released off his shoulders, that he could still do it, that he wasn't going mad, and the old Daniel was still there.
But contracts in F1 aren't worth the paper they're signed on. Indeed, Ricciardo's contract with McLaren ended a year early – albeit with a massive payout. Red Bull would need to do the same to get the Mexican out of his seat. In Formula 1, statements like Horner's carry about as much weight as a footy club declaring a battling coach 'has the full support of the board'.
"I don't expect to get off to a slow start, I want to hit the ground running, and try and also put what I've learned in this time off to use.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Energised' Ricciardo makes F1 return after Vegas party“You never know what’s going to happen”. FULL STORY: 9News
Read more »
'Energised' Ricciardo makes F1 return after Vegas party“You never know what’s going to happen”. FULL STORY: 9News
Read more »