F1 2022: Daniel Ricciardo returns to Red Bull as a reserve driver
While confirming a likely Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull partnership, team principal Christian Horner has imposed certain restrictions on what the deal means for the Australian.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has shot down suggestions Daniel Ricciardo could replace Sergio Perez before the Mexican’s contract expires at the end of 2024.
During practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko let slip that Ricciardo would be the team’s third driver next season, however Horner later elaborated no contract had yet been signed.
“We haven’t signed anything yet, but Helmut in his enthusiasm has obviously announced it,” Horner said.
“I guess that means that Daniel will be joining us, unless of course he chooses not to sign it.”
Horner, Formula 1’s longest standing team principal, oversaw Ricciardo’s five seasons at Red Bull which included seven race victories and two third-place finishes in the drivers’ championship.
He has remained a strong supporter of Ricciardo’s and lamented the 33-year-old’s early exit from McLaren.
“Daniel’s a big character. It’s been disappointing to see his performance this year,” Horner said.
“I think he would have wanted a lot more out of the season. But he’s still one of the biggest names and characters in F1, and he obviously has a history of being a Red Bull junior.
“(The contract offer from Red Bull) means that he keeps in touch with F1 and we’ll obviously be using him on the simulator as well, and he’ll be attending some events — of course, if he does sign the contract.”
Horner stressed the terms of Ricciardo’s deal would be as a third driver and there was no avenue for the Australian to replace Perez as the team’s No. 2 alongside world champion Max Verstappen, despite the recent row between the Red Bull pair in Sao Paulo.
“No. Daniel’s contract is very specific, for a specific reason. We have a contract with Checo (Perez) for the next two years,” Horner said.
“What the partnership of Max and Checo has produced has been phenomenal for us. The five one-two finishes so far this year, the constructors’ championship that we hadn’t won for eight years … is a phenomenal achievement and obviously the combination of both drivers’ points contribution.
“They have a good relationship, they’ve raced well for the team and we’ve got no reason to see that being any different tomorrow or for the duration of their contractual commitment to the team.”
Perez outstrips Verstappen in final Abu Dhabi practice
Sergio Perez outpaced Red Bull team-mate and world champion Max Verstappen in setting the fastest time in the third and final practice for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mexican, whose relationship with the two-time world champion is strained following the latter’s refusal to obey team orders and let him pass in last Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, clocked a best lap of 1minute 24.982 seconds.
This was enough to take him 0.152 seconds ahead of the Dutchman Mercedes duo seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and last Sunday’s winner in Interlagos victor George Russell maintained their fine end of season form, coming in third and fourth fastest respectively.
Hamilton was only two-10ths off the pace and Russell four-10ths, but the former faced a visit to the stewards office after being reported for failing to slow under a red flag.
Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren, breaking up the teams order, ahead of the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Daniel Ricciardo was eighth in what is his final race weekend with McLaren.
Revealed: Why Ricciardo settled on Red Bull return
Daniel Ricciardo is heading home — to Red Bull, that is.
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko revealed to Sky Sports Germany after FP1 in Abu Dhabi on Friday that Ricciardo would rejoin the team from next season as its third driver.
“Ricciardo will be our third driver. We have so many sponsors, we have to do show runs and the like, so of course he’s one of the most high-profile and best-suited,” Marko said.
Ricciardo joined Red Bull as Mark Webber’s replacement in 2014 and spent five seasons at Milton Keynes before departing at the end of 2018 to join Renault, where he drove for two campaigns before landing at McLaren in 2021.
In August this year Ricciardo confirmed he had been dropped by McLaren with a year to run on his contract, with the team later announcing Australian rookie sensation Oscar Piastri would take his seat in 2023.
He will start his final race for McLaren in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Ricciardo’s Formula 1 future has been a hot topic within the paddock, with the affable Aussie receiving calls from a number of suitors however none that fit the performance bill for the eight-time grand prix winner.
In recent weeks the 33-year-old conceded he would not have a place on the grid in 2023, but remained forthright in his desire to return to Formula 1 with a full-time drive in 2024.
He had previously been linked to a reserve driver role with Mercedes however his connection with Red Bull, the team with which he won seven races over five seasons, proved strongest.
With Red Bull, Ricciardo joins the strongest team on the Formula 1 grid – one that this season clinched both the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships.
However the West Australian’s ultimate goal is to return to a full-time drive in 2024 and as it stands, that looks unlikely to come at Red Bull.
World champion Max Verstappen is signed until 2028 while Sergio Perez is contracted to the end of the 2024 season.
However, Marko’s reveal that Ricciardo will join the team from next season comes at an interesting time for Red Bull, after the team was forced into damage control following a spicy end to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that saw Verstappen ignore team orders to swap places with Perez.
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The spat between teammates has dominated headlines ahead of the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi and though Red Bull has attempted to throw water on the flames, the tension in Brazil was clear for all to see.
If Verstappen and Perez cannot resolve their grievances, the latter could be shown an early exit which would then open the door for a Ricciardo reunion.
For now though, the Australian will have to settle for a role as the team’s third driver and hope the future brings with it a prospective full-time drive.
Originally published as F1 2022: Daniel Ricciardo returns to Red Bull as a reserve driver
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