Red Bull seat is Ricciardo’s ‘golden objective’

Daniel Ricciardo hopes to make use of his return to Method 1 with Alpha Tauri to earn a Crimson Bull seat sooner or later, staff principal Christian Horner says.

Max Verstappen’s deal runs to 2028 however Crimson Bull team-mate Sergio Perez is out of contract on the finish of 2024.

“Daniel firmly desires to be pitching for that 2025 Crimson Bull,” mentioned Horner.

“That is his golden goal, and by going to Alpha Tauri he sees that as his greatest route of stating his case.”

Crimson Bull have dominated the 2023 season to date, profitable all 10 races, with reigning world champion Verstappen taking eight and Perez two.

However after a powerful begin to the season, Perez’s type has slumped and the Mexican has didn’t make it into the highest 10 in qualifying for the previous 5 races – Verstappen has been on pole place for all of them.

That has led to hypothesis as as to if Crimson Bull will change Perez with Ricciardo if the Australian impresses alongside Yuki Tsunoda at Alpha Tauri.

Ricciardo lost his seat at McLaren on the finish of final season and selected to rejoin Red Bull as a third driver for 2023.

Horner, who was chatting with the official F1 Nation Hungarian GP preview podcast, mentioned: “In the intervening time, there’s solely one thing in place till the tip of the season, so there aren’t any ideas or expectations past that.

“We have loaned him to Alpha Tauri to the tip of the 12 months. Clearly, our drivers are going to be Max and Checo once more subsequent 12 months, but it surely’s at all times good to have expertise in reserve.”

Horner mentioned the staff are attempting to work with Perez to enhance his performances. He beforehand mentioned he believed the Mexican was placing himself below an excessive amount of stress to attempt to beat Verstappen.

“A few of that has been unhealthy luck, a few of it has been somewhat self-inflicted,” Horner mentioned.

“We’re simply attempting to assist him by that interval. He is nonetheless second on the planet championship. He is gained two grands prix to date out of the ten this 12 months, and he began the season in such nice type.

“We simply need to assist him rediscover that type.”

Ricciardo check confirmed ‘the previous Daniel’s nonetheless there’

Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren was terminated because of failing to get on phrases with team-mate Lando Norris.

He drove for Alpha Tauri initially of his profession in 2012 and 2013, when the staff have been often called Toro Rosso, and earned a return with a formidable efficiency in a check at Silverstone final week.

Ricciardo was driving throughout a Pirelli tyre check, through which the tyre provider decides on automotive set-up and the groups have no idea the small print of the designs they’re utilizing.

However Horner mentioned they might see sufficient to know that Ricciardo was instantly quick in comparison with the occasions Verstappen and Perez had achieved on the British Grand Prix, the race instantly previous the check on the identical monitor.

“What impressed me essentially the most once I went up to take a look on the check was, taking into consideration he hasn’t been in a automotive for seven months, inside his third or fourth lap, he was all the way down to a time that was inside a second of what our drivers have been attaining,” mentioned the Crimson Bull boss.

“Then his first correct run, because it have been, on tyres that have been comparable, you might see his confidence was rising and rising.

“And that ‘first’ lap, on in all probability what was his seventh lap on the day, would have put him on the entrance row of the grid, in order that was massively spectacular.

“I used to be simply happy to see that he was nonetheless capable of function at that degree.

“I discussed to him ‘that will have put you on the entrance row of the grid’, and you might see nearly the reduction in his eyes. It nearly was just like the stress launched off his shoulders, that he may nonetheless do it, that he wasn’t going mad, and the previous Daniel was nonetheless there.

“Then his lengthy runs have been very spectacular and the work that he did for Pirelli was completely on the cash.”

Horner mentioned he requested Ricciardo whether or not he was ready to return in a staff which has been near the again of the grid to date this season.

“To begin with, it needed to be clear, did he need to do it?” Horner mentioned. “Getting into an Alpha Tauri may be very totally different to driving a Crimson Bull automotive, and it’ll actually have its challenges.

“The factor that we wanted to make sure of is was he up for that problem, scrapping to get out of Q1?

“And he appeared very happy to return into that scenario to get again on the grid and be a Method 1 driver once more.”