Sheer genius behind Ricciardo’s bombshell career gamble

Daniel Ricciardo’s dramatic career move has left the Formula 1 world all saying the same thing about his monumental gamble.

This is just the start.

Daniel Ricciardo’s bombshell move to Alpha Tauri on a short-term loan deal from Red Bull has the potential to rip the Formula 1 grid apart.

The Australian is gambling his career with the risky move to Red Bull’s misfiring development team — and it is no secret what his endgame scenario is.

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The Formula 1 world was left rocked by the sudden axing of Alpha Tauri driver Nyck de Vries on Tuesday night — and the brutal nature of Ricciardo being secretly lined up to replace him.

The move brings Ricciardo a step closer to his dream of ousting Red Bull driver Sergio Perez from his spot as world champion Max Verstappen’s teammate — but it also puts him at greater risk of being tossed onto the Formula 1 scrap heap for good. It’s important to remember Alpha Tauri has been a basket case this season and Ricciardo will be stepping into one of the slowest cars on the grid.

The Formula 1 world has been left divided by Ricciardo’s plotting — but all commentators seem to be agreeing on one point — the heat is on Perez like never before.

The Mexican racer is contracted through to the end of 2024, but his future remains clouded — with speculation ramping up about Ricciardo potentially replacing him every time he has struggled in recent grands prix weekends.

Ricciardo’s masterplan has never been so brutally clear — he is coming for Perez with everything he has got.

According to F1.com, Ricciardo had already been told a seat at Alpha Tauri for 2024 was there for him if he wanted it.

According to widespread reports, Red Bull had spoken to Ricciardo about wanting him to replace de Vries even before his thundering performance on track during the team’s tyre testing at Silverstone this week following the British Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo with Mick Schumacher at testing on the Silverstone track. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirmed that when sharing his excitement about Ricciardo’s return to the grid.

“It was great to see Daniel hasn’t lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his SIM sessions translate on track,” he said.

“His times during the tyre test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri.”

Ricciardo’s lap times during the test while driving the RB19 for the first time reportedly left management putting pressure on Ricciardo to take de Vries’ seat immediately.

The Australian had no option but to say yes. This comes despite F1.com reporting Ricciardo’s preference was to delay his move to Alpha Tauri until the end of 2023 — giving him a full pre-season before jumping into the car for the start of the 2024 season.

Not to jump at the immediately open seat would have been another massive gamble with Alpha Tauri likely to have turned to Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson. That would have given the 21-year-old a chance to impress and ultimately lock Ricciardo out.

Now the game begins.

Red Bull’s decision to promote Ricciardo leaves Perez driving for his life. Verstappen’s teammate has inexplicably failed to make Q3 in five consecutive grands prix and his performance at the British Grand Prix was savaged by Aussie great Mark Webber.

The drama behind Perez and Ricciardo is all playing out very publicly.

“To me it screams of the wider play and that’s about putting pressure on Perez to sort himself out,” F1 journalist Will Buxton posted on Twitter of Ricciardo’s move.

“No point rushing Ricciardo back early solely to prep for Alpha Tauri in 24. Either they’re seriously evaluating him for RBR 24 or want Checo to think that they are.”

Christian Horner has always been one of Daniel Ricciardo’s biggest fans. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images.

Dr Helmut Marko is reportedly not yet convinced about Ricciardo’s performance level. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images.

He said the move will likely send shockwaves around the grid, which suddenly looks like it is about to undergo a major shake-up.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise if Ricciardo ends up back at RBR,” he wrote.

“No lineup since his departure has been as strong as him and Max. How the rest of the field could shake up makes for an intriguing bit of mental gymnastics.”

Red Bull is famously fickle and the team has made ruthless calls in the past to move drivers on. Perez will be struggling to get a good night sleep any time soon.

Veteran Formula 1 journalist Andrew Benson wrote for the BBC: “De Vries’ underperformance has turned out to be Ricciardo’s ticket back to an F1 seat — a strategy that was not fully formed when he was dropped by McLaren last year but which was clearly the endgame for the Australian when he returned to familiar ground as Red Bull reserve driver for this season.

“Red Bull say Perez has their full support, but they are kidding nobody. If Ricciardo does what would be expected of him at his best and comfortably outperforms Tsunoda, and Perez cannot relocate his mojo, don’t rule out another switch at some point.”

Formula 1 journalist Chris Medland wrote for racer.com there is just as much pressure on Ricciardo.

“If Ricciardo really still has what it takes, he has to show it immediately,” he wrote.

Daniel Ricciardo strutting back onto the grid. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images.

“It must have become clear to the 34-year-old that if he didn’t take the seat now he wouldn’t get another shot at it.

“If Ricciardo performs, then he becomes a future candidate for a remarkable return alongside Max Verstappen at some stage.”

We have a shoot out between Ricciardo and Perez — even though they will be racing at opposite ends of the grid.

F1 correspondent Lawrence Barretto summed up the drama by writing for F1.com Ricciardo knew all along that he was never going to win the Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen without proving himself at Alpha Tauri.

He is gambling on himself and there are already signs he is heading in the right direction to earn a spot to drive for the world champion team next year.

According to the report, Ricciardo’s time during the testing at Silverstone would have been enough for him to secure a spot on the front row of the British Grand Prix.

With the dust beginning to settle, it’s looking more and more like the move is a stroke of sheer genius.