Our reaction to Daniel Ricciardo’s RETURN to F1!

[@andrewschlosser6595]

Matt should get extra points for the preseason prediction he nailed it

[@vicospriteg]

That’s the only win the leclerc fan will have this year.

[@Gamurboi]

@@vicospriteg GOD DAYUM

[@robotmafia000]

​@@vicospritegfatality! 😂

[@f1clips44]

@@vicospriteg💀💀

[@HK_Productions47]

@@vicospriteg Jesus, i've walked up on a murder scene!

[@holdt15]

The next 13 races is gonna be the toughest and most important races in Ric’s career. Hope he nails it

[@maxwell7911]

he had his most important races already

[@adamadamiscool]

For real everything or nothing. He either wins himself a seat in the championship winning car alongside Max, or he is out of F1 forever.

[@officialWWM]

@@adamadamiscoolyep but you have to give him props for backing himself! At this point, he has very little to lose.

[@alimantado373]

Im not a fan, but hes lucky to have a third chance. Good luck to him.

[@HellaNorCal916]

@@adamadamiscoolI absolutely agree. He's not getting any younger. Put up or shut up.

[@versiable8041]

I would've given Nyck two more races until the Summer Break as it's a bit Harsh, but it's very nice to have Ricciardo back in F1.

[@Lewis_M397]

Normally it’s Spain he was lucky he got to Silverstone

[@Mexiturtle345]

F1 is a harsh sport. De Vries took the risk joining Alpha Tauri over a seat at Williams because he saw a chance to join Red Bull in the future. He took a gamble on himself and ultimately fell short of the expectations lauded about him. It sucks for him, but that's the consequences of his choices and the nature of F1.

[@soundscape26]

Maybe but on the other hand I'm imagining Hungary and Spa would be two more races where he would linger in P15 or thereabouts i.e. wouldn't make much of a difference.

[@f1clips44]

@@Mexiturtle345 Williams had a done deal with sargeant

[@matthewmeech8718]

Harsh? he is getting destroyed by Yuki, who got worked by Gasly every year. No brainer.

[@cland27]

I think this is an audition for both of them. They’ve never been sold on Perez but, when he was performing well, there weren’t any better options. I think this is them now considering being done with him and the brutality of the move is more about that than it is De Vries’ performance. They needed him out of the way so Danny and Yuki can have a 6 month fight to see if either of them are ready to step up/ step back in. If neither of them impresses then I think they hang on to Perez for another year and put Liam Lawson in one of those seats to begin his development.

[@melindam2776]

Nah, this just confirms that if Dan is up to any speed, he is back at RB. (and Perez out) RB needs Dan' positive image more than his drive. RB doesnt have a strong position for sponsors. Their image hasn't been good, and it is not helped that Max is winning unchallenged and barely shown on the TV. They can be winners, but air time counts. And if they get Dan back, their worth will go up. At least a sponsor would think so.

[@thetruebatman4632]

I don’t think RB is ever going to be sold on anyone but Max until Max retires. Your job as RB second driver is to get out of his way.

[@schabur365]

I don’t think this is in any way a guarantee that Danny has a seat in 2024 at all. They wont put Danny back in RBR, and AT is supposed to be a development team. Maybe thats changing with the closer technology sharing from next year, and AT becomes where RB can make up development/tunnel time. Thats what id do….and so would any other team if they had 2 teams.

[@pallas6613]

@timothymartin2137 Yeah he's second, but he's 99 points behind Verstappen and has failed to make it to Q3 is the past 5 races. He should be on the front row in that car, without issue. I love Perez, I was happy to see him get the chance at Red Bull, but unless his form improves in the next few rounds, Red Bull are going to start looking elsewhere. They need two consistent and fast drivers to win constructors, and Perez is not producing for them at the moment.

[@aventusV33]

​@timothymartin2137Alex Albon had the same amount of Q3 appearances as Perez. He's only 2nd because 1) He's in a dominant car 2) The pack behind is extremely close. So, they keep taking points off each other.

[@philbear21]

I was bummed about Danny not having a seat, but I was oddly fixated on how excited he was about Las Vegas this season and how he must have been extra hurt lol. So now I’m super happy that he’s back in a seat, but, hear me out…Danny Ric is gonna be racing in Vegas babyyyyy!!!

[@bg22757]

Niceee

[@saigaikwad415]

Daniel gets to fulfill his dream of driving at Las Vegas!!! So happy for him!

[@Karincl7]

Last 😂😂😂

[@RX7GOD]

didnt think about that! Good for him though! only alonso waiting for equal engines now😂

[@kirliefiguera8627]

​@@Karincl7 so he can go slowly and enjoy it more!!!😂😂😂

[@kadosmp4]

As an Aussie, I am so excited to see two Australians back on the grid.

[@Nienke131]

Yeah that’s what I thought about having to dutchies on the grid. It wasn’t that great actually 😂

[@MrDuneedon]

As a grid, I am so excited to see two Australians back on me.

[@kidoctane]

Oi, Oi, Oi !!!

[@antonspannuth7023]

​@@MrDuneedonthat sounds a bit sus☠️☠️☠️

[@corneliakashigawi5743]

Saaaaaame

[@nathanb286]

Helmut couldn’t even wait till the summer break to unleash his rage on De Vries

[@nurulasyikinshuhaimi435]

He couldn’t stand Christian’s side eye ‘’I told you so” every weekend

[@Pascaffa]

Helmut was protecting de Vries as best he could, since it was his choice. Horner never wanted de Vries, thus Horner could not wait to releash his rage till the summer breakk

[@woodduck2178]

​@@PascaffaHave you been in a coma for the last month? Helmut has been digging in to De Vries while Horner hasn't said anything about him.

[@nathanb286]

@@woodduck2178 It was Marko’s decision to get De Vries, Horner didn’t want him

[@mamavswild]

Helmut made a cold but NECESSARY decision. This also stands as an open warning to Checo. It makes sense, this decision does double duty.

[@Roguescienceguy]

Imagine the swearing over the radio at RedBull if Yuki wins this three horserace for the second RB-seat😂. It would basically be Max and Yuki lifting their visors and shouting profanities at each other. Somehow I would actually like that to happen. The scenes🤣

[@09csr]

I'd love to see a Romanian version of Yuki one day! When they aren't using "one word swears" like pi**a or such, they use "1000 word swears" picked from the closest copy of the Standard Book Of Spells! XD

[@SSSalodin]

Yuki is going to Aston with Honda. RB doesn't have a replacement for checo yet

[@roy12525]

I'd pay PPV money to hear Yuki swear at Christian Horner over the radio 😂

[@philippebakker9836]

I would argue that yuki would not get close enough to max for the swearing. But, will be more consistent then our beloved Mexican. I am no expert however so don’t quote me.

[@johncenashi5117]

@@philippebakker9836 Ty for the quote!

[@ba.diecast24]

Red Bull doing promotional stuff with Max and Yuki and the chemistry that they seemed to have made it seem like a definite possibility

[@juggernaut316]

Max and Checo do not get along at all

[@ba.diecast24]

@@juggernaut316 yeah, you have to start to wonder whether or not that is hurting their ability to do some of the marketing that they’ve wanted to on the Red Bull branding side of everything

[@bogdanneculce-sampetrean2935]

Yuki is backed by Honda. Hard to think they won't want to take him to Aston Martin from 2026

[@timjohnun4297]

@@bogdanneculce-sampetrean2935 They will

[@gearzracing]

My Prediction: There's going to be a whole episode of Drive to Survive dedicated to Daniel Ricciardo's emotional fall from F1 and incredible return and "Potential" come back.

[@jlovo24]

Episode title: The Phoenix

[@gearzracing]

@@jlovo24 you better get royalties for coming up with the perfect title. :P

[@4evaPuffy]

Foshoooo

[@KieferKars1955]

​@@jlovo24or "The Honey Badger

[@maxwellkeeling3781]

how about Red Bull Rising :D

[@mipplemep]

I think this Ricciardo move is also a function of Alpha Tauri's plans to rebrand next year. Not only do they get a top driver, they get a top F1 personality. It's kind of win-win.

[@navox933]

Not sure Ricciardo is still considered a top driver, atleast he can’t be on merit.

[@Duderino27]

Top driver ? like his 2 years at McLaren?

[@eckszdee]

@@Duderino27Or his 2 years at Renault? Where he smashed Hulkenberg and Ocon? People seem to forget that

[@MattM-oe6qs]

​@@eckszdeeDoes beating those two make him "top"?

[@steve0szymanski]

​@@MattM-oe6qshe had a pretty good 2020.

[@chriscosby6612]

Concerning the Yuki question, I believe he was showing much more potential with actual rookie mistskes, wheras De Vries was consistently underachieving with rookie mistakes.

[@itsPovich]

I mean if you look wt the raw stats De Vries wasn’t that far off Yuki, its not like Yuki was dominating him either. Personally would’ve loved to see him finish the season, find another seat..

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Yuki is overrated, barely Gasly level, and he’s nothing special either

[@joelsnellman3443]

@@Duval-In-The-Wall We should also keep in mind that Yuki pretty much came in thanks to the Honda deal with RBPT, and was allowed some more mistakes, because he had nowhere near the track record of De Vries, and had nowhere near as large expectations put upon him. It is an unfortunate chain of events for De Vries for to say the least.

[@BR-hx4hb]

"i love daniel ricciardo with every fiber of my being" .... same

[@dilz2012]

It's kind of brave of Daniel to take that seat but it's also maybe his only real route back to the top of F1 again. He struggled in a struggling car at McLaren. Could be the season that finishes him.

[@michaelbubly]

I don't think there was many future opportunities coming for Danny Ric. This could be the season that finishes him, but if he crushes it this season could also save him.

[@chrisc475]

Yes. Unless he's amazing it'll just cement existing opinions that he's no longer good enough. I like DR but can't help thinking this isn't the start of something new and exciting.

[@timjohnun4297]

This was planned from the day McLaren dumped him, possibly even before that, hence why he chose "A year off" over driving for one of the other teams. He would rather risk it all to get into a potential race winning car than hang around in low level teams and fade into insignificance. Can't say I blame him

[@samansoleimani]

Swapping Nyck for Daniel doesn't make a change to Alpha Tauri, I think the reason they did it now is to evaluate daniel and yuki in case perez keeps doing what he is.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

The idea is that Riccardo impressed them and they might actually consider him for the RB seat

[@summersoldier1003]

it does make a change, the team becomes 56.7 percent cooler with danny ric

[@nao__channel]

@@Duval-In-The-Wallimpressed them by doing what exactly? he was shit at mclaren

[@GrimslyRyuzaki]

thats literally what they said

[@GTDpowah]

​@@nao__channelimpressed them in a tire test with his competitive times, as they stated.

[@F1oridaManYT]

It's brutal that he'll be driving the slowest car but man it's good to see Danny Ric back on the grid.

[@matthiascerebri3315]

The slowest car is the Williams

[@Duderino27]

@@matthiascerebri3315 not anymore

[@lunalucifer3335]

​@@matthiascerebri3315the Williams, literally is the fastest in terms of top speed, and Logan even managed a p11 last race while both alphatauris were nowhere in Silverstone. And let's not forget Alex getting consistent points

[@_DUAL1TY]

Isnt the alfa romeo the slowest car

[@frl-4047]

@@_DUAL1TY No way in hell. I'd say Haas and Alfa are pretty tied on car power. But AT is below them both. The only reason AT scored 2 points this year is because Tsunoda was able to outperform the car to get it into the top 10. And that was before the other teams got more upgrades. The AT04 is 100% the slowest car at the moment

[@vanfrancisco4573]

Connor Moore must be having a field day for that DR skit that he do in this season.

[@blackjacktrial]

Danny Ric and Alonso just photobombing and scheming in the shadows (not actually scheming, just looking suspicious). Maybe Alonso convinces Lawrence he has three sons?

[@juggernaut316]

this is a perfect move by RB. it sets them perfectly up to decide what to do next season.

[@henryminis1880]

Thank you Matt & Tommy for cranking this out so quickly! The instant this news came out, I was itching for P1 commentary on it. Thank you!

[@alrplaylist1]

Don't forget that Danny Ric was not dumped by RB, it was his decision to leave the team. DR, before RB domination, has been the only one to more or less keep up with Max's pace. Certainly closer than Checo.

[@Nienke131]

I know that however Max was also still learning at that stage cause he came into F1 really young. He made a lot of progress since. I think Danny would be a lot further off him today.

[@rdk7010]

As Nienke said, Max was a kid back then who skipped F2 with very little experience. Once he got some experience under his belt he outperformed Ric and now Max will be even further ahead. Max has grown a lot the past few years, it would be a miracle if Ric could keep up with him. I do think however he would be more consistent than Perez, he can't handle the pressure that comes with driving in the same team as Verstappen.

[@frituurvlieg]

​@@rdk7010 I think if either Perez or Ricciardo will adjust their mindset and accept the position as nr2 driver, they will be a lot closer to max. Its the same as in the bast with Gerhard Berger or later Rubens Barrichello or David Couldhart. You can either be miserable overcompensating your abilities leading to forced behaviour, accidents etc. in the hope of winning from Max. Or you accept that you are grouped with this one special person that comes up every few years that in normal circumstances will always be the better driver and focus on becoming the runner-up instead.

[@alrplaylist1]

I agree and hope that DR will settle to be a very competent second driver for RB. Don't think he'll challenge Max's dominance but should be there to pick up the pieces when things go out of script. Or maybe DR gets it together, Max loses some momentum, and he puts a stellar season like Nico did years ago. Max needs to be challenged, otherwise will get bored and retire young (I suspect RB knows this). Looking forward to see what's next!

[@tanyaghosh2277]

@@frituurvlieg Checo new from day 1 he was Max's assistant bro. He's performing so badly regardless of that. RB need someone better - who? I don't know but someone.

[@KJ28554]

I’ll feel bad for Nyck depending on wether Danny beats Yuki cause then we’ll get a sense of how much it’s the driver and the car but I reckon it’ll be close

[@Gl-my8fw]

Nick had enough time to prove he is good enough for f1. He is 28 and was never really a top prospect.

[@himeshmothi1605]

Rb doesn't allow thier drivers to grow...look at albon...hes fantastic ar Williams but terrible at rb

[@rhetz458]

@@himeshmothi1605 RBR is literally responsible for Albon even being in F1. They let him do sim work for them and then got him the seat at Williams. With Gasly, they let him terminate his contract early to go to Alpine, they didn't try to hold him back. RBR is harsh but fair. If you perform well, they will give you all the opportunities. But Nyck is 28 and a Formula E champion, he needed to match Yuki if he wanted to stay

[@soundscape26]

I'm thinking Yuki and Danny will have similar performances... this will be more obvious if the car keeps being crap not allowing any of them to shine.

[@Gl-my8fw]

@@himeshmothi1605 albon really wasn't any worse than perez is.

[@shahzebnasir4692]

This is clearly to see how good Yuki really is and a way to see how good Danny Ric still is. Whoever outperforms the other is for sure going to replace Checo. Red Bull doesn't put pressure like this on a driver unless they're already on the chopping block.

[@yar2000]

Also might be so they can see how good Dani Ric still is, and if he isn’t living up to expectations, they can replace him with Palou/Lawson for 2024 (pls Palou if they’re doing this).

[@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044]

@@yar2000 Palou has a contract with McLaren (IndyCar and F1). He's not going to Alpha Tauri.

[@yar2000]

@@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044 if Red Bull want to, they can definitely get him.

[@Gl-my8fw]

​@@yar2000supposedly Riccardo in a practice put a time in that was front row quali time

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

FINALLY SOMEONE GAVE CREDIT, YUKI just beat a FE F2 champ so hard, he folded him in half a season.

[@VanskyAlleria]

I hope Danny does well, relative to Yuki of course. It would suck if he has a similar slump as he did at McLarren. Personally, I think he will do well. This half year doing other things, learning about other parts of F1 etc. must be of great value to his development.

[@rhusband91]

Daniel + Yuki… can’t wait! Also, wondering how the AT pit box is going to go since Yuki took Daniel’s trainer! 😅

[@magdaskolmowska9212]

I was wondering the same thing! Who's Daniels trainer now :D

[@fafmotorsport]

“Two guys, one trainer” 😂

[@marcvanhunen890]

Clocked as soon as the notification popped up. I'm Dutch but even I understand this decision. De Vries gave himself too high expectations, which he was not able to come close to. Unfortunately he did not get an opportunity in F1 earlier, and at 27, you will need to perform immediately. With Danny ric in the back, AT has an opportunity to work on development for the rest of the season.

[@e2rqey]

He definitely should have chosen Williams. Alpha Tauri basically gave him all the downsides of Williams with the ruthlessness of a top team

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

​@@e2rqey Williams wanted Logan, that was never really an option

[@louisharland3071]

@@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168they didn’t really actually the plan was to keep Logan for a second year in f2 to develop and were most likely to hire nyck until then but he chose alpha Tauri instead basically forcing them to get an underdeveloped f2 driver into that seat

[@Ter1m]

If Daniel makes it back to RedBull, I think the next Season is gonna be very exciting

[@danielbateman6518]

Honestly, I think the next season could be incredible. Merc will probably be much improved, since they aren't stuck with a bastardised car, if mclaren and Aston Martin keep up progress they could be challenging red bull. Obviously still a lot can happen between now and next season, but I'm hopeful.

[@Naessey]

I’m not sure he will. Perez is still second & has a year left on his contract. Perez will have to continue with bad form and Ric will have to knock it out of the ballpark. Then there is Yuki. There’s no doubt he can drive, but he’s not in the best car. Who knows.

[@Mogu727]

@@Naessey Let's not forget what happened to NDV. Perez ain't safe

[@Naessey]

@@Mogu727 Yotally agree Red Bull not known for their patience. Though, it’s not like Perez isn’t finishing in the points. Qualifying is a problem, but getting the car home in the top 10 isn’t. It’s obvious he can drive. Personally, I think the next three races will probably decide his fate for 2024.

[@Chickentorchic]

​@@danielbateman6518keep in mind that RB stopped developing this years car already and started on the next. I don't think the season will be exciting unless Max gets some sort of challenge at RB.

[@Savethemanuals94]

I think both the team and Nyck himself believed that he was entering the team on a leadership role. When he didn’t fulfill that role, it was too late for the team to treat him as a rookie and give him the whole year to develop. I feel Nyck could have been more silent with his words and shown performance on track.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Yeah Alpha Tauri fully expected him to be the “team leader” which shows that Tsunoda was plan C if anything (behind keeping Gasly and chasing Herta)

[@Certaingeoduck7]

This is the thing I find people are massively overlooking. Nyck came in with many interesting interviews of bashing current F1 drivers. Even when he wasn’t on the grid when he would do interviews he was constantly belittling other drivers saying he could do better. This wasn’t a one off thing he did it with Albon, Norris and Yuki. If he did it publicly I can imagine there might’ve been some things said that wasn’t liked by Helmut and other people in the RB camp. Maybe I’m looking too far into it.

[@sakalaath]

That's worth 5 points for Matt, absolute spot on prediction.

[@randomturkyt]

bro imn so excited, i legit love ricciardo, gonna be supporting him for the rest of the season

[@nbn461]

My working theory is HM wanted to see whether DR still has the chops for a RB seat in case SP fell off performance wise, and this is HMs way to give DR seat time in current machinery.

[@flyingphoenix113]

This reminds me a bit of the 2021 Haas situation. The current Alpha Tauri seems to be so terrible (ok, not quite *THAT* terrible) that it's difficult to get a genuine sense of Yuki's improvement. If Ricciardo comes in and smashes him, it will be quite telling, but if Ricciardo struggles mightily, I'll have a great deal more sympathy for de Vries.

[@Appletank8]

I assume what RB wants to test is if Ricc can at least match Tsu in pace. right now DeV can't even get that.

[@RX7GOD]

The question is, what do they do if ricciardo is even slower than de vries? Do they bring him in, or get someone like iwasa from f2?

[@bananagaming7612]

The thing is de vries is about 2 tenths behind, yuki. While Perez is 1 second behind max. So it is also a test for yuki so he might replace Perez if he does well against ricciardo

[@GaspoweR]

There was a report saying that Danny had a really good session with the Pirelli tire testing in RB machinery (his first time using it in 2023) and his best time was good enough to be in the front row. So who knows considering Alpha is a different car altogether

[@ThereMayBeLions]

​@@RX7GODThe issue is that Tsunoda can't even match his earlier pace. How do we know that Riccardo will simply sink because the AT ride is just that horrible?

[@av8erdavid]

Another thing to consider is Alpha will have a new team principal, name and closer working relationship with red bull next year. They may even start using more red bull parts. this could help them be more competitive next year.

[@Tomasz987987]

Nahhh, keep them away from RedBull ad possible

[@big-skittle8731]

⁠@@Tomasz987987they are “redbull”

[@knott-e]

Exactly, makes more sense when you remember that point.

[@BigFatCock0]

​@@Tomasz987987They're not stating an opinion. It's speculation based on facts. Shoosh

[@christian0405]

Interesting fact Since 24/7/2022 (French GP) only 1 race has been won by a driver who *isn't* a RB driver. With the British driver George Russell winning the 2022 Brazil GP he was the only one to stop the RB team from winning in basically a whole year (if RB wins the Hungarian GP on the 23rd).. RB wins: 1. France 2022 (Max) 2. Hungary 2022 (Max) 3. Belgium 2022 (Max) 4. Netherlands 2022 (Max) 5. Italy 2022 (Max) 6. Singapore 2022 (Checo) 7. Japan 2022 (Max) 8. United States 2022 (Max) 9. Mexico 2022 (Max) 10. Abu Dhabi 2022 (Max) 11. Bahrain 2023 (Max) 12. Saudi Arabia (Checo) 13. Australia (Max) 14. Azerbaijan (Checo) 15. Miami (Max) 16. Monaco (Max) 17. Spain (Max) 18. Canada (Max) 19. Austria (Max) 20. Great Britian (Max) MB+grid wins: 1. Brazil 2022 (George) In the last 21 races, Red Bull won 20 (95,2%) In those 21 races, Max won 17 (81,0%), Checo won 3 (14,3%) and George won 1 (4,7%) Crazy if you think about it... 11 consecutive could have been 22 soon if not for the Brazilian GP drama

[@Warewolfgirl1]

I'm excited for Danny at Vegas! But also really sad for Nyck.

[@ShaanQais]

Crazy how he went from driving the rb to getting a seat in the same day. Must of been some tire test!

[@a11danny]

I'm sure they told Danny for a while now

[@ShaanQais]

@@a11danny yeah for sure, definitely discussions about getting him in based on driver performance

[@randingo117]

I heard that he put times in during the tire test that would’ve gotten him front row at the silverstone gp

[@adamozmin8970]

@@randingo117what was the track conditions?

[@Daxboy16]

He apparently impressed so much during the tire test that they immediately made the decision.

[@callumcjham4478]

I don't think Daniel will demolish Yuki but surely he has to beat him in the 2nd half of the season to keep his seat

[@ElementsMMA]

Yuki is overrated.

[@crazyadam9281]

@@ElementsMMA Yuki is an average driver but at least he isn't as bad as De Vries.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Yuki is not even as good as Gasly, who isn’t as good as Ocon, who is pretty much Perez level I’d hope Ricciardo is able to beat him This season is showing us that Lando is a top talent, maybe losing to him is similar to losing to Max in that sense

[@Roguescienceguy]

​@@Duval-In-The-Wallyep those that still don't wanna see that Lando has grown out to be a proper talent(I actually think he is better than Russell for the last two seasons) should get their eyes checked. Imho Ocon is better than Perez. He gave him a proper headache in what was his rookie season and last year his quali's were proper shite but how many times did he finish right on Fernando's gearbox. He has real good racepace

[@callsingadder]

I genuinely screamed from joy that Danny is back

[@Birdyflys-tt9gm]

Same and I just woke up lol

[@andrewm4951]

I was hoping he was taking checo seat lol

[@tothepointreviews9675]

Chill out

[@discovolante6624]

whats the big deal?, sure he is a top bloke but his driving ability snapped off

[@nathanwatson1915]

Bros blinded by the smile. DR ain't gonna impress.

[@Obbliteration]

I had no idea this channel existed! Im so happy to see you back.

[@MooseStuff]

I think with the rebrand coming to AlphaTauri having Daniel in the seat now helps the potential value of new sponsor deals.

[@craigmoy5428]

I said the same, I think it is going to get flogged off no matter what RB says, DM took over Minardi and agreed to keep them whole and invest, now he is gone the attractiveness of selling a F1 team is too strong.

[@NifesTheCat]

I feel like a big part of this that's flying under the radar is AT is already rebranding and Danny Ric, and the media reach he brings, is a hell of a ticket item to sell to a new name sponsor.

[@TheFulcrum2000]

Good point, totally forgot about that!

[@wallymcguire2033]

Danny Ric is a media gold mine. He is such a big personality. I’m so glad he is still around.

[@konepe1653]

^ this. It's basically the only reason why he's still in F1, any other driver with the same caliber of talent would've been gone years ago, but he's still here purely for marketing purposes

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

@@konepe1653 He literally won a race 2 seasons ago. Guy has serious talent when it all comes together

[@dangerdean9066]

If you thought he left, he never left. Just moved aside for a while

[@OG-512]

(Again)

[@Karincl7]

Until the end of the season, he wont perform...

[@ExpediteTravels]

I had a feeling this would happen during the summer break but boom 💥 here we are it’s nice to see Danny Ric back in F1 Red Bull are ruthless to drive for perform or bye bye

[@Gl-my8fw]

As it should be

[@ide1020]

Netflix must be so happy right now.

[@V8VRUte]

This is literally the BEST news I've heard in ages. Last year, from the announcement of his leaving McLaren, I always wished he'd have taken a seat with HAAS, or Williams. I didnt care if he would be in a slow car, but F1 just needs him on the grid. I think that with the 6 months he's had off, it will have been enough to refuel, and relight the fire in him. I wouldnt be surprised if we start to see the old Danny Ric again.

[@marcodhaene]

Danny Ric's quickest time during the Pirelli test today was apparently good for p2 for last Sunday's grid... We don't know the tyre specs obviously, but still. And wasn't there a plan / idea that Yuki remains at AT for 2024 and Honda wants him at Aston for '25 or' 26?

[@jacobrev6567]

I am so happy Daniel is back already

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

The story of Daniel Ricciardo. Who couldn't live with his own failure. The failure that brought him back to the place it all started. Red Bull.

[@The5thColumn]

Yuki and Danny Ric is such a combo of personality!

[@justincase9471]

Yeah, one is cursing his arse off whenever possible and the other laughs at any challenge that you throw at him.

[@adamgorka7600]

Bring back hot takes Wednesday please, I miss the series, and Matt’s prediction about Nyck’s race seat reminded me of it

[@ddavis2354]

I just watched your video about who on the grid will be replaced and you guys nailed that one!

[@DaniMacYo]

I think Helmut’a idea is Daniel Drive the second team to keep shape, then if Perez continues this way they might give Riccardo the second Redbull seat for next year.

[@mamavswild]

Absolutely. The rest of the year is simply an audition for the senior RBR seat…Daniel or Yuki. Their performance will tell. This is just as much as a warning to Checo as it is a test for Yuki.

[@carlosinfante4102]

Danny: Perez I’m coming for that seat next year

[@andio3i766]

I think he will be a backup for six months but only because Alex Palou is doing great. He will be a two-time IndyCar champion by the end of the year and definitely deserves a place in Formula 1.

[@metro3313]

Let's be fair, we could all see this coming. If you don't perform as a Red Bull driver you won't last long as a Red Bull driver.

[@mamavswild]

Also to be fair, any team would be like this; RBR just has more options since they have two, not one team

[@XBullitt16X]

I kinda did too, I just wasn't expecting it this quickly.

[@jameshammond4730]

what about perez then

[@arcenistpyro2220]

​@@jameshammond4730Checo will be replaced after season. The writing is on the wall.

[@RX7GOD]

@@jameshammond4730 If tsunoda smashes ricciardo or the other way around, and perez still underperforms, whoever wins will get the seat. its redbull nature really

[@jeshlysierra7228]

I am torn ! Being an Aussie I am loving that Danny Ric is back on the grid, but very sad that Nick lost his seat…he should have had more time.

[@Whatreally123]

he wasn't a rookie, he was 28 and the least he should've done is not crashed. Having said that I don't think Yuki has done enough to be in AT for the third year but he's japanese and Honda are supplying engines. So he will be there.

[@davidbrown8517]

F1 is not a charity, it's big business.

[@wiltebakker5036]

I can hear the drive to survive people thank the gods, for Daniel's return. Saves them the effort of making the other drivers look funny.

[@askeeter84]

DTS is going to have a field day with this story line. 😂 especially since there hasn’t been much content this season. Feel bad for devries but he kept pushing the Im not a rookie don’t call me that. And RB treated him just that way. Dog chance for DR to see how he does, measure against Yuki and help with development of the car.

[@rars0n]

I mean to be fair, he's right, he's not a rookie, and he's too old to be a rookie, but if you go by his abysmal driving this season, he does look a lot like one.

[@xoluciaxo_3721]

He was so confident, almost cocky in DTS too, when he was announced last season😂 Oh how he must be feeling now.. Still, i feel bad for him tho

[@scottrobinson4611]

They didn't have to replace Nyck, which tells me they're also interested in assessing how Daniel will perform. Often you guys are saying Yuki's had a good week, but he's only scored 2 points this season. The car just isn't good enough, and Nyck scoring as many points as Yuki would still place the team in 10th. This is why I think AlphaTauri/RedBull are getting Danny back in the car to see if he can at least stay on Yuki's level, and maybe we're pleasantly surprised and he does better than Yuki. And with Perez being as bad as he's been this season, I can fully see Red Bull aiming to put Daniel back alongside Max next season. Maybe even a cheeky swap between Daniel/Checo later this season if Checo continues his streak of going out in Q1 and finishing ~6th.

[@mamavswild]

I think this move stands as an open warning to Checo just as much as a pertinent move for AT.

[@TheAli985]

They'd still be 10th but Yuki's had quite a few races just outside the points so with a small amount of improvement they could consistently get 1-2 points from him. Nyck's top finishes were a single 12th and 3no. 14ths so he'd need a lot of improvement to regularly get anything and if anything he's getting further away from that. Also, Daniel has a lot more experience than Yuki and Nyck in F1 so may be more useful in developing the car which they clearly need at the moment.

[@eternal_trashero]

Yeah but 2 points is a lot considering Williams only got 8 last year and 0 in 2019 2020.

[@tarettime9392]

I doubt they’ll drop checo mid season unless the constructors actually becomes under threat but I think the second half of this season with Danny and Yuki is to measure who to have replace checo/put pressure on checo to justify his spot.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Yuki has been knocked out in Q1 in the past 3 Grand Prix, all Ricciardo really needs to do is try to sneak into Q2 lmao

[@DarthJF]

In isolation de Vries probably would have deserved to have rest of the season to show if he can get up to speed or not, but the situation is complicated by Perez also underperforming. I think RB are definitely considering replacing Checo as well, and putting Ricciardo and Yuki together gives them two potential replacements to compare. If Checo doesn't get his mojo back soon, then whoever gets on top of the Ricciardo - Tsunoda fight will be next in line for that Red Bull seat.

[@zedthehun]

It's SO obvious yet people can't seem to see it. Danny said no to an Alphatauri drive 6 months ago. What has changed? Why go to the back marker? The only reasonable answer is that he gets a clean shot at a Red Bull seat if he delivers. Obviously he thinks he can do it. Perez has to drive the wheels off that RB to keep his seat now. He is WAY under driving that car considering it's potential.

[@angelrobles7201]

The first time Marko put into question De Vries's seat was after Baku, a weekend in which Checo won both the sprint and the race. What Checo's slump did in this situation was that Danny Ric became De Vries's replacement, instead of Lawson or Iwasa. But, even in isolation, Marko had already written De Vries's fate on the wall.

[@TheEnergeticPanda]

For anyone wondering why Yuki got the time but Nyck didn't it's because Yuki was extremely fast but couldn't control it and every year they've been honing it in. I wouldn't be surprised if they were shocked just how much Yuki was pushing without destroying the tires. Nyck just wasn't quick enough and as Franz Tost said you can't speed a driver up but you can control a fast driver

[@davidbrown8517]

Tsunoda is only there because of Honda. No Honda no Tsunoda.

[@fliugica]

I'm looking forward to Matt's reaction when we see a Williams in 8th, an Alpha Tauri (Danny Ric) in 9th and a Ferrari 10th and 11th 😂

[@Beathoven007]

De Vries was Formula E champion and I remember he had an above par performance at his first or first two ever F1 races. I know he is rather old for a rookie in F1 but it could be that his current season is a chemistry issue and that he can bring things back above par in another team. I think, for strategical reasons.. yes, Alpha Tauri was right. But I also think Nyck deserves another chance elsewhere in F1.

[@summersoldier1003]

I agree, however formula 1 is not the place for second chances. I'm quite suprised danny ric is getting one it's a rarity

[@radiantvalor]

There are plenty of rookies with promise for a seat to be wasted by de Vries. It's brutal but this is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport. It's not F2 or carting. Especially considering he is already older than the majority of drivers

[@kaly3877]

@@summersoldier1003rarity? 4 of the current driver lineup have gone and come back. Alonso, Albon, Magnussen and Hulkenburg

[@akirasouma7561]

@@kaly3877 yeah I mean even Kimi return to F1 for some "second chance", so I don't think its a rarity at all

[@KA._.144]

⁠​⁠@@kaly3877alonso 2 time champ, albon, consistently in the points, and hulkenburg and magnussen have both been in f1 for almost a decade and have scored points many many times

[@yt_Ajay_]

I hope we get Danny Ric in the RB20 winning races again..

[@lyricsninja7734]

Let's take a look at the chronology shall we? Danny test drives the redbull at Silverstone. Absolutely smash lap time closest to max (maybe better). Christian and Marko gets excited. Immediately gave Danny a seat at Alphatauri. Checo is still under delivering. With a quick driver swap Danny is back at redbull. Danny will give Max a run for his money. Max will behave. Lewis gets his eighth.

[@wallymcguire2033]

The seat was given to Danny Ric on the weekend before the tire testing on Tuesday.

[@ElementsMMA]

Lol deluded

[@kuzcoduzco2955]

This is exactly what I want to happen

[@pretty00lights]

Oh you mean just like last time when DR was at Red Bull giving max a run for his money….NOT hahahahahahaha Man these DR fans are about as lost as Biden is during a speech. DR was never all that good…. That’s why he left Red Bull because he know he was going to get dropped.

[@lyricsninja7734]

@@wallymcguire2033 I highly doubt that..maybe they were preparing for it for next year but once Danny got his mojo back.. things changed. Who knows?

[@JimmyQuince]

The real point is the really good drivers can extract the most out of any car look at Hulkenburg getting his tractor into Q3 almost every week.

[@Abigailcath]

drive to survive is gonna be crazy

[@quincylongman7469]

Another thing about bringing Danny in this soon is that it gives them time to recover points and maybe recover a place in the constructors thus making the AT F1 team more money & making it a more valuable F1 team to buy if RB decides to sell it

[@Mirko____]

I wanna thank Toto Wolff for encouraging Danny Ric to knock at redbulls doors cause holy crap did that move pay off fast

[@mamavswild]

Was it Toto that had any part in this? I thought Christian was already thinking of bringing Danny back in the fold in some capacity to keep him in the paddock.

[@Mirko____]

@@mamavswild I don’t remember who initially said that but from my understanding Daniel went to speak to Christian after Toto told him that Christian values him a lot

[@pulsefrenzy6433]

I see this as a stepping stone for Danny ric. Warm him up keep his edge for the red bull seat and clears a way for Liam Lawson

[@Nemix648]

De vries got mailed from merc to alphatauri now he’s getting mailed from alphtauri back home😂

[@hann2fam217]

So excited for Danny!!🎉 Omg the pressure though and that alpha tauri car doesn’t exactly make waves, god I hope he pulls through okay

[@neokoz]

As i mentioned in the story, i think the only reason they are doing this now, is because Helmut wants to know if Yuki or Daniel should replace Checo at the end of this year. What better way to do it than in same machinery? So i feel Nyck is just victim of Checo underperforming. Edit. Almost exactly what Tommy says 4:48

[@CloseCutFilm]

I think it's more like they're seeing if Yuki is worth keeping around. If Ric comes in and smashes Tsunoda, Lawson will get the call. If Tsunoda is competitive. they'll keep him around and keep developing him. Of course, the Perez seat is also there too. If Perez keeps failing to perform and Ric has a good season, I see ric going in the seat. If tsunoda gets smashed, they drop tsunoda and bring in 2 rookies with Ric at RBR. If Tsunoda does significantly better than RIC, they put Tsunoda in Perez's seat and bring in 2 more rookies. If Tsunoda does good against RIC but RIC still has the edge, it justifies continued development of Tsunoda. This is a chopping block opportunity for all 3 involved in one way or another.

[@neokoz]

​@@CloseCutFilmI think what we both say doesn't contradict each other. I think you are right and it's a good opportunity for Helmut and Christian to experiment who should take the seats at RBR without sacrificing points (as they did with Kvyat) by doing it with AT who are not in a point scoring position anyway. It's like a free driver test.

[@CloseCutFilm]

@@neokoz absolutely, I was just adding my take on top of yours which I believe is accurate.

[@neokoz]

​@@CloseCutFilmthanks for expanding the answer then 😂

[@rars0n]

When many people were proclaiming Ricciardo to be done, given he was quite obviously being outpaced by Lando, I maintained that Ricciardo is just a guy who is very good when the car suits his driving style and that it was just too much of a struggle for him to adjust to the McLaren. I thought that if he were put back into the seat of the Red Bull, for instance, you'd see a return of that high level of performance. Admittedly, it's not that clear cut, as Horner pointed out that his time at McLaren left him with some "bad habits" that he had to unlearn. But it did strike me as interesting how Max, like Danny, likes the car to oversteer, while Checo prefers understeer. Last season, as Red Bull continued to develop the car, Max got faster while Checo dropped off and it seemed to be at least partially due to this aspect of the car; as they were improving it for Max, it became less and less suited to Checo. I get the impression that something similar is happening this year, although Checo has also clearly been making a lot more mistakes this time around. All of this is to say that I think Danny was always the better choice of driver for that kind of car when compared to Checo, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if he does well at Alpha Tauri. I'm not sure how much of a chance he really has to get put back into the Red Bull seat, but I have a hard time believing he wouldn't be better than Checo at this point.

[@einstijn138]

Imagine the scenes if Daniel outperforms Checo in Hungary and Belgium I could see RB swapping them immediately during the summer to get Daniel in the RB for Zandvoort

[@phoenixmotorsport647]

What you didnt mention about Ricciardo is it seems that he jumped into thr Red Bull for the first time in the tyre test, and set a front row time!

[@wallymcguire2033]

And that’s not an insignificant feat. You wonder how close the simulators are to driving the real car, and then he puts in lap times that would have put him on the front row of Sunday’s race? That’s pretty cool no matter how you slice it.

[@mamavswild]

@@wallymcguire2033 Wasn’t he on different tires though, and we certainly don’t have his timing information you’re speculating

[@wallymcguire2033]

@@mamavswild if it’s good enough for Christian Horner and Red Bull, it’s good enough for me. They both know way more than both of us. So stop worrying about who is speculating.

[@n8th899]

@@wallymcguire2033well good thing he will be using the same car he set this worlds best time in then. Oh wait he will be driving the worst car

[@wallymcguire2033]

@@n8th899 Yes, agreed. It is going to be an interesting test. Just because you have the best car doesn’t mean you will put in the best lap times, as Checo has proved. He’s done well and he’s been mediocre. This will be an interesting test of Daniel’s skills.

[@emilybrooks4016]

i think they did the right thing, they have to be looking at the future and this is easily the best option to do so

[@RohanVBB]

I think Next years seats for Red bull will be: Red bull: Verstappen and Ricciardo Alpha Tauri : Tsonoda and Lawson

[@officialWWM]

Waking up to this news in Australia has absolutely made my day! I do feel for Nyck though, I hope he finds another seat. The only problem is, the Alpha is slower than the McLaren :/

[@max_coast]

but, Alpha Tauri recently vowed to share more tech from Red Bull as doing their own thing admittedly hasn't been working. I think, no matter what, this is Ricciardo's best chance at returning to F1 and he realizes that. I also think since Alpha Tauri can't do worse this gives him the possibility of improving his 'brand' by being a hero and helping develop that car.

[@officialWWM]

@@max_coast there’s only so much they can legally share. I doubt Daniel even had much say in it. He’s contracted as an RB driver…he has to drive what they tell him to drive…

[@fermentexbelosrsty12]

I can't wait to see how this unfolds. This season has gone from bleak to interesting in a matter of hours!

[@tiggie_96]

Not necessarily. I think he’ll be competing for top 15 and we’ll stop caring after 3 more races. Danny Ric will be just another bottom marker, like usual. Especially in that AT.

[@julianschwertzthewoodlands4161]

@@tiggie_96 Yeah, I think it will be McLaren 2.0 for him

[@davidbrown8517]

F1 has never been bleak.

[@fermentexbelosrsty12]

@@davidbrown8517 Mercedes dominance era? Red bull dominance era? Ferrari dominance era? Brother, are you a new fan?

[@julianschwertzthewoodlands4161]

So...ignore the closer racing in the midfield and all the battles they've given us. Ignore Alonso scoring multiple podiums in an Aston Martin. Ignore Williams jumping into the points mix and McLaren jumping into the podium mix. Ricciardo taking De Vries' seat so he can do marginally better in one of the worst cars on the grid is the thing that makes this season exciting. Ok....

[@SkyrimChicken]

Two Aussies on the grid for the first time since 2013!

[@mamavswild]

I’m happy for the Aussies…I would be sad for the Dutch except they still have a Godzilla for a driver to cheer for.

[@acbsmith1]

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!

[@theoddstrokesswimmingvideo1314]

Matt…was spot on…now I’m impressed and a little scared.

[@CritiasXI]

I think it's harsh on de vries, but I'm too hyped about Ricciardo coming back

[@wallymcguire2033]

Yes, exactly.

[@kaithesamurai5943]

Ya fr , I would have let nyck have until the break, but I am just too excited to have Danny back

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Hulkenberg’s time off has shown us that you don’t really lose your talent

[@SDRaygon]

I think Ricci is not there to replace de vries but to replace perez, yes this year redbull are fine points wise, but other teams are catching up, and its not a given they will bar far enough ahead next year for max to win the CWC and with what perez have done lately he might not get away with next year so question is, does redbul risk perez next year? i know its a long season left and it can still turn arround but if ricciardo got a seat after 1 tyre test i think they are still pretty invested and intrested in him, and since its so fast its most likely to prepare him for next year. this is just what i think and his no facts in them.

[@temp0theman830]

I am so scared. Im just ready to see daniel not preforming well, BUT. If daniel actually does well and gets points i will be in a happy mood for the rest of the year

[@stuartclark2141]

Feels like Dan will be great for benchmarking drivers and car development needs. I remember the days when RedBull teams went with one experienced driver (Webber, Coulthard…) paired with a young gun. Experience is great for driver feedback on the car’s needs.

[@craigmoy5428]

DR would love to know he is now the human version of Litmus paper a control in a RB study

[@lachlantait2106]

Another big factor here is really the development of the Alpha-Tauri, Danny Ric knows what a good car is and how to develop one. I think he might struggle these two races but really do well post summer break once he gets a feel for the car and they develop the car under Danny Rics guidance. While testing three drivers at the same time its a great move from Red Bull. How crazy would it be if he kills it and gets to Q3 in Hungary and gets points! So keen to see how it goes

[@abigailcooling6604]

If he gets to Q3 he'll probably end up out-qualifying Checo...

[@hiufgterde]

They also need Daniel's experience to get the Alpha Tauri car into a better place. So I think it's a number of things that just added up into making this call

[@chris_not_larson]

Yeah, Tsunoda has had a few issues here and there, but Nyck is also 28 and has a lot of other experience. He was a "rookie" to F1, but quite frankly someone with his experience should not be spinning, crashing and what else during practice, quali and the race. The bar was, in my opinion fairly , set higher for him and he failed.

[@wallymcguire2033]

Yes, F1 is F1 for a reason. It’s the pinnacle of Motorsport and a harsh measure of your talent. Unfortunately it’s a swim or sink environment because there are other elite athletes who are competing for those few spots. Too bad for Nyck but he will still have a well paid and successful career in Motorsport. Just not in F1.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

He was still in his first F1 season and needed time, but it was the wrong move to begin with

[@wallymcguire2033]

@@Duval-In-The-Wall Unfortunately he’s 28 so his growth prospects are limited. I’m not sure what better moves he had at this point.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

@@wallymcguire2033 Williams was 100% a better move. Look at the way they’ve dealt with Sargeant so far. Such a likable team, unlike RB

[@wallymcguire2033]

@@Duval-In-The-Wall Yes, I really like Sargeant. I hope some success starts to roll his way.

[@justscrolling6191]

Let’s go. If he is rapid, RIP Checo

[@chiyolate]

I believe this whole situation was caused by the recent poor performances of Checo, whether Danny is rapid or not, Checo will leave next season and it's either Yuki or Danny to fill the spot.

[@soundscape26]

But if he's not it's the end of his F1 career, so there's that.

[@justscrolling6191]

@@chiyolate I tend to lean this way, I think whoever is the clear #1 at AT by the end of the season will be promoted

[@erikcarrillo7378]

Tbh this is what Nyck gets he came in talking a big game, he was saying hes not worried about Yuki and generally acting a little arrogant after he got his try out with Mercedes. This is the universe humbling him.

[@irishswtpea]

I logged on as quickly as I could to find your emergency podcast because I knew you’d have one!

[@superstar_h_gamer5211]

If Yuki beats Danny Ric....he surely gets that rb seat

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Viewer discretion is advised for what Max is going to do to Yuki if they were teammates, that talent gap is surreal…

[@dimitrijensk2845]

Just two things. 1. I hope Yuki doesn’t get destroyed and subsequently dropped. 2. I hope Daniel eventually gets another shot in that RB. Would LOVE to see him fight for a championship.

[@juggernaut316]

if Yuki gets destroyed, it may mean that Daniel replaces Checo and Yuki stays at AT

[@14rs2]

I think it’s going to be a seat filler role. As in if Yuki destroys him then Yuki will get the Perez seat and then Lawson will get the spare seat. If Daniel comes in and destroys Yuki then he will get the Perez seat and Lawson will get the spare seat at Alpha.

[@TheFulcrum2000]

So win-win for Lawson then? 😉

[@soundscape26]

I honestly don't think either will destroy the other... they'll be close.

[@mamavswild]

This is definitely an audition for that senior seat and an open warning to Checo. I see Maxiel back on the menu and I’m here for it.

[@wallymcguire2033]

Yuki is not going to destroy Daniel. Unless you are going to consider swearing and screaming in your radio at your engineer as a measurement.

[@soundscape26]

@@Beau_Rivage Yuki is there since the start of the season... the car suiting Danny is quite unlikely.

[@iamWing0w0]

Imagine even if Daniel stays with AT next year. Since AT is moving to UK right next to RB, and they'll be using as many RB parts as possible and also RB's design, they could end up with a relatively fast car next year like the rocket ship McLaren brought to Silverstone last week. It's actually not a bad option for Daniel Ric if we see it this way.

[@66racer]

Wow, I am genuinely happy to hear the news!

[@Jay-nk6dm]

This swap is helped by 5 factors: 1)perez failing, devries failing, lawson doing well, awasa doing well, ricciardo doing well. The new lineup at alpha tauri will be the test for whoever gets to replace sergio at the end of the season. I believe the decision has already been made. redbull can see how fast other team are developing, and know they wont have the same advantage next year that they do this year, and will want a better driver next to max. (doesnt help that sergio and max have been butting heads recently) If daniel wins, yuki will stay at AT one more year before leaving redbull family. If yuki wins, he will go to redbull while ricciardo tries to find a new seat i think lawson and iyumu awasa will both be in the AT next year.

[@Duderino27]

"lawson doing well"... Lol...

[@daveroberts1099]

@@Duderino27?..

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Where does Perez go in all this? Honestly he goes back to AT

[@Jay-nk6dm]

@@Duval-In-The-Wall probably to haas or some other team that just needs some veteran presence. He wouldn’t go to the redbull b team because they need the space to evaluate younger drivers

[@walkdaddy4592]

In the words of Max Verstappen " It's simple if you are not performing you're out!"

[@fluffypuppy4388]

I think Nycks age was a big obstacle for him. He’s 28 and if you give him a few years to develop he’s already like 31 so you potentially only have a handful of prime years with him. Yuki was 20 as a rookie. If you give him a few years to develop and he ends up being good you have easily twice as long with Yukis prime. It’s the years you put into their development compared to how many prime years you’d end up getting with them. The reward really isn’t there letting Nyck try to develop for a few years. You’d rather take a chance on a younger unproven driver than an older unproven driver.

[@SkiRacingOz]

I think it’s mainly so Ricciardo can help develop it further, even if he’s lost pace he has proven at Renault and more recently on the sim that he is great for developing a car and alpha tauri need that.

[@grahamwillox]

Best F1 news this year so far. Go Danny Ric!