Christian Horner has joked about Daniel Ricciardo's "stupid" decision to leave Red Bull amid the Australian's return to the team as a reserve driver. Ricciardo was a part of the Milton Keynes-based squad's stable for several years, having raced for the then-called Toro Rosso team in 2012 and 2013 before stepping up to the main Red Bull outfit in 2014. The 31-year-old went on to score seven of his eight F1 victories with the team before opting to leave at the end of the 2018 season. Ricciardo then had a two-year stint at Renault before joining McLaren on a multi-year contract for 2019. However, after struggling during his time with the team, the mutual decision was made to terminate his deal early, meaning that he would exit at the end of 2022. It has since been confirmed that Ricciardo will return to Red Bull as a reserve driver for 2023, with Horner suggesting that he never should have left in the first place.
Horner reflects on Ricciardo's return
"Daniel joined us as a teenager and he grew up with the team here," Horner was quoted by The Mirror . "He had some great success here with us, and then he went and did something stupid and went to drive for a couple of other teams and it never quite worked out." Horner is hopeful that Ricciardo can once again have "fun" in his new role following a difficult couple of years. "Daniel is such a great personality and big character," the team boss explained. "We felt it was right to bring him back into the team – and of course promotionally, he's got the biggest smile in Formula 1. "For him, he will be able to get back to having fun and rediscover his enjoyment of being a Formula 1 driver, rather than the stress he has had over the last couple of years."
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