Even though Daniel Ricciardo is one of the fan favourites and most popular Formula 1 drivers, he is sadly sitting out of this season after a uncompetitive 2022 with McLaren. Instead he will take up the role of third driver at his old team Red Bull, which on the face of it would suggest that he will only be putting laps in the simulator and doing promo work for the team. In reality his duties are vital to the success of the team, with Ricciardo set to play an important role behind the scenes for both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in 2023. "For me putting the Red Bull uniform back on, it's a happy feeling," Ricciardo said to media, including RacingNews365.com , at their launch event in New York. "It's like returning home, kind of now in this second phase of my career feels warm and cosy - a lot of familiar faces. Back to the family with fond memories."
The third driver
Even though Ricciardo is Red Bull's third driver, he will not be present at all 23 grands prix this year. For some he will be back at the factory in Milton Keynes helping the team in its critical race operations. "I'll attend some races obviously and it's really just to help develop the car, use my experience, a lot of simulator work, and just keep involved in the sport and try and obviously help the team as much as possible," explained the Australian.
Helping out Verstappen and Perez
While both Verstappen and Perez will need to put in the results on track, they will get some extra help and feedback from Ricciardo as he puts in laps in the simulator to help them with car setup. He said: "I'll be there [at Red Bull factory] in a couple of weeks getting ready for the season. I'll do a lot of sim work, that will be a lot of my work and my contribution and let the boys take the track stuff. "I'll be working behind the scenes to just develop the car and help understand the direction that Checo and Max want to take it, and try and lend some of my experience."
Working with the engineers
Even if Ricciardo is not on site at the races he will still have access to the communication channels between the team at the track at Milton Keynes, so he can offer his input into and feedback into decisions being made. "On race weekends I'll listen in and even if I'm not at the circuit I'll have access to all the communications and staying close with all the engineers and being on chat channels with them, trying to figure out what trends we're starting to see," said Ricciardo. "Because even if they're winning every race, no car is perfect - you're always trying to chase something. So [I'll] try and understand the direction they want the car to go in and develop. "To develop an idea or something I've learned in the last few years with racing with other teams, perhaps try to lend some guidance, advice, or something for me to test in the simulator and try to give feedback if it's positive."
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