Daniel Ricciardo shock F1 return confirmation revisited after Red Bull axe

After his poor performances for McLaren in 2022, it was announced during that summer break that Daniel Ricciardo would be leaving the team. 

With no seats available for 2023, it appeared Ricciardo's F1 career was over, but a deal was agreed which would see him return to Red Bull for 2023, but as a reserve driver to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Ricciardo's duties were effectively to be trotted out at sponsor events, show up at the odd race but beyond that, his chances of returning to the grid were slim. 

But as the 2023 season developed, a slim opening appeared for the Perth-native.

Nyck de Vries was handed a full-time AlphaTauri seat alongside Yuki Tsunoda, but the Dutchman struggled badly to adapt to F1, and as the season unfolded, it became a question of when, not if, he would be jettisoned.

The tipping point came after the British Grand Prix.

de Vries once again failed to score any points with his 17th place finish, with Ricciardo planned to be in the Red Bull RB19 following the Silverstone race as part of a Pirelli test. 

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Daniel Ricciardo 2023 F1 comeback

His performance in this test was enough for Christian Horner and Helmut Marko to put de Vries out of his misery, with Ricciardo being announced as returning to F1 from the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

The plan, as Horner would later reveal, was simple. Ricciardo was signed to try and motivate Perez to up his own performances, and if the Mexican did not perform, and Ricciardo did, he would be back in the Red Bull seat he should never have left alongside Verstappen. 

Upon his return, Ricciardo took 13th in Budapest, before a 16th at Spa, but his momentum was halted with a crash at Zandvoort.

Avoiding the already-crashed Oscar Piastri, Ricciardo hit the Turn 3 barriers, and broke a bone in his hand during practice, the first major injury he had ever sustained in an F1 car.

He was subsequently ruled out for six grands prix, handing a certain Liam Lawson his F1 debut, before returning in the United States.

Ultimately, Ricciardo failed in his bid to return to Red Bull. Poor performances for Racing Bulls in 2024 meant he was discarded after the Singapore GP for Lawson, finally bringing the curtain down on a long-career which promised much, but did not deliver what he was capable of.