Riccardo Returns: What the Honey Badgers Return Means for F1’s Ruthless Drivers Market
To the surprise of many this past week, it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo had signed as a driver for the Italian-based AlphaTauri team. Ricciardo would be driving from the Hungarian Grand Prix forward, effective immediately. This news came before the summer break, a month-long hiatus during which teams are forced to shut down their factories and forbidden from doing any work. While the replacement of former AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries seemed imminent for many, it was assumed that even the ruthless Helmut Marko (Head of the RedBull driver development program) would give the Dutchman until the summer break to improve his form. Dr. Marko has been an essential part of the RedBull family since the team’s formation in 2005. All driver decisions are made and approved by Marko himself. He is often regarded as the most outstanding young driver scout ever, discovering talents such as the four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and two-time world champion Max Verstappen. Marko is infamous for his exceedingly high expectations and unfiltered comments.
Daniel Ricciardo, a former RedBull junior driver, drove for Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) and RedBull between 2012 and 2018. He left the team for Renault at the end of the 2018 season as he felt he was being treated unfairly and not getting as much spotlight as his younger colleague Max Verstappen. While his move to Renault saw minor success in his second year with two P3 finishes at the Nürburgring and Imola, he decided to make yet another move that many thought, including myself, ended his career. Upon arriving at McLaren, Ricciardo showed promise. While the car was noticeably slower than the previous year, he managed to outqualify his new teammate Lando Norris. However, in the race, he finished three positions behind Lando Norris. While this isn’t necessarily a poor result, it was all downhill from here. While Ricciardo had earned himself a race win this season, he still managed to finish the season a crushing 45 points behind his significantly less experienced teammate. Ricciardo insisted the car was to blame, that it hadn’t suited his “last of the late brakers” driving style. This is the name given to drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Dani Ric for their incredibly late braking styles, often slamming the brakes far later than anyone else. The style is very high-risk, high reward; however, it does not work in instances where car brakes cannot last with a constant 110% brake force.
The 2022 season came and went, and yet another season was deemed a failure. The Honey Badger finished an eye-watering 85 points behind Lando Norris, and thus his contract was bought out a year early by McLaren, and he embarked on a personal journey to regain himself. At the start of the 2023 season, Ricciardo joined RedBull as their test driver. This role carries the responsibilities of testing the car setup on a simulator, stepping in for drivers when they’re ill, and most importantly, guarantees Ricciardo one practice drive a year in the newest car. Christian Horner, the team principal at RedBull, stated that Ricciardo was ruined at McLaren. Horner claimed that in just two weeks, Ricciardo was able to be fixed and returned to his old form. While many saw it as a dig at McLaren, the statement ended up having truth to it. At a test conducted by RedBull following the British Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo was given a few laps to set some times. To the shock of everyone in the garage, including Ricciardo himself, he set a lap time capable of P2 at the race that weekend. When Ricciardo left the track that day, Marko made a call to Ricciardo’s agent and let de Vries know that he no longer had a seat. While the fate of de Vries seems harsh, Ricciardo has pulled off what many feel to be impossible, and many will monitor him closely to see if the decision made was the right one.