Formula One 2023: Daniel Ricciardo on his return to F1 ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo opens up on his F1 comeback with AlphaTauri and the biggest challenge of his career ahead of his return to racing at Hungarian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo. Picture: Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty

Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on his return to the Formula One grid, declaring he’s “not scared of anything” and is “ready to embrace” the challenge of trying to reboot his F1 career in the struggling AlphaTauri car.

Ahead of Ricciardo’s highly-anticipated comeback at this week’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Australian star said he was ready to “hit the ground running” in Budapest after his six-month sabbatical from racing.

Ricciardo has been given the opportunity to revive his F1 career after it was announced last week he would replace Dutchman Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season.

Declaring his return to the Red Bull family had helped him recapture his love for the sport after his struggles at McLaren ended in him losing his seat last year, Ricciardo said his battles had prepared him for the challenge of diving into a new seat mid-year.

“I’m excited about it. It’s a challenge, for sure, to jump in and try to hit the ground running,” Ricciardo said in an interview with formula1.com.

“I feel like I have been through a lot the last year, or even the last few years, where I’m not really scared of anything that’s going to be thrown my way.

“So for that, I actually do really like the challenge and I say challenge because, yes, it will be a challenge, but I don’t know if I would have it any other way.

“The start of the year getting back into the Red Bull family felt like full circle and now getting back to AlphaTauri, which was once Toro Rosso, it’s all very full circle right now.

“But I understand this is my journey back, this is the process and the path and I’m ready to embrace it.”

Daniel Ricciardo prepares for his return to the grid. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty

Ricciardo marked his return to the team formerly known as Toro Rosso – where he raced in 2012 and 2013 before his progression to Red Bull – with the words “full circle” alongside a photograph of himself in front of the AlphaTauri headquarters on his social media.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner acknowledged the “limitations” he would face in the AlphaTauri car, which has been described as the slowest on the F1 grid, but hoped his experience could help him adapt.

AlphaTauri sits last in the constructors’ championship with Ricciardo’s new teammate Yuki Tsunoda having scored the team’s only two points for the season.

“The car will be what it is,” Ricciardo said.

“I’m going to drive it and work from there. I don’t want to get too (many) … preconceived ideas.

“I appreciate the car’s going to have its limitations. I’m sure they’re probably just lacking some overall downforce and things like this, but I think if it’s a car that feels balanced – it might not have as much grip as the Red Bull I drove a few days ago – but if it feels relatively balanced, that’s something I can work with.

“I’m looking forward to also developing it and using my experience, and ultimately, I think, for Budapest, just go out and have fun, try to use more right foot then left and have a good time.”

On loan to AlphaTauri from his 2023 role as Red Bull’s third driver, Ricciardo joked he just had “to be a legend” when asked what Red Bull had told him he needed to achieve in the second half of the year, before adding “they expect results”.

“Until I get in the car, it’s hard to define what that is,” Ricciardo said.

“I don’t think there is pressure until the summer break, obviously there’s two races and then the summer break, I don’t think there’s ‘You have to do this before August’ (message), but I also don’t expect to get off to a slow start, I want to hit the ground running.”

Daniel Ricciardo has come full circle. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty

Ricciardo has been open about his dream of securing a “fairytale ending” to finish his career with Red Bull where he race for five years from 2014 to 2018 and had seven race wins.

Asked about the possibility of a path back to Red Bull if he could perform with AlphaTauri, the 34-year-old was aware of the opportunity in front of him.

“That’s why it feels a bit like back when I was working my way up through it, in the Red Bull family,” he said.

“That was it, ‘If you get results, we’ll keep pushing you’ … that’s really like the mindset.

“I know the team … it’s been tough to get a points finish this year, a top 10, so to push this car and try to get it inside the top 10, I think that would get everyone pretty fulfilled and excited.”

Daniel Ricciardo during testing in Northampton, England. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty

Ricciardo also revealed his initial reaction when he received the call from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about the AlphaTauri drive, saying he did not need much time to think about it.

“I was like ‘OK, let’s just hear what he has to say’,” Ricciardo said.

“I think that’s probably the best thing because sometimes you’re trying to prepare yourself, ‘What if he asks for this?’ So (I thought), ‘Let’s just hear him out and see what happens’.

“I didn’t really need to think much about it. I think, as well, being back in this family, I feel so much … I would say there’s certainly some familiarity, but I also feel at home, I feel like I’m going through it all again.

“These were the calls I used to get and these were the moments they used to kind of throw in front of us.

“There was no question that I was going to say yes, it was just I guess the reality of, ‘OK, it’s going to happen pretty soon’.”