Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has the firm intention of returning to a seat at Red Bull, the strongest team in Formula 1 today, which has Max Verstappen and Sergio Checo Perez.
After the failure of Nyck de Vries, the Australian driver will return to the F1 grid and will race the remainder of the 2023 season with AlphaTauri, a team that could catapult him to the main team of the energy drinks if he gets good results.
“He absolutely wants to compete for that Red Bull seat in 2025. That’s his golden goal. Going to AlphaTauri he sees as the best way to raise his hand in 2025,” Christian Horner said.
Checo has the backing
The British executive has no intention of parting with Checo Perez for 2024, although he leaves open the possibility for the Australian to fight for a seat in 2025.
In an interview with Tom Clarkson, Damon Hill, and Pedro de la Rosa on the F1 Nation podcast, the Red Bull director emphasized Ricciardo’s role for 2023 and whether he has a chance of stepping up next year.
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“At the moment, everything is only settled until the end of the season. So there are no thoughts or expectations beyond that. We have given it to AlphaTauri until the end of the year,” he insisted.
He added, “Obviously, Max Verstappen and Checo Perez will be our drivers again next year. But, anyway, it’s always good to have talent at our disposal.”
Finally, Christian Horner praised the level Ricciardo showed at the Pirelli Test held at Silverstone: “Considering he hadn’t driven an F1 car for seven months, he set a time on his third or fourth lap that was less than a second slower than what our drivers were doing.”
Thus, the Perth-born won the confidence of Red Bull, who decided to give him Nyck de Vries’ seat at AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season, looking to improve their position in the Constructors’ Championship.