13/07/2023
NEWS STORY
AlphaTauri has announced that Daniel Ricciardo will be joining the team on loan from Red Bull for the remainder of the season, starting from the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.
Along with the identity of the infamous BBC presenter, speculation of Ricciardo's return to the grid has dominated social media for much of the past 48 hours.
The news follows what Red Bull described as a "strong performance in today's tyre test at Silverstone.
"I'm very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team," said Franz Tost. "There's no doubt about his driving skill, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straight-forward.
"The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.
"I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with AlphaTauri, and I wish him all the best for the future."
"It is great to see Daniel hasn't lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his sim sessions translate on track," said Christian Horner.
"His times during the tyre test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at AlphaTauri."
"I'm stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!" said Ricciardo who made his F1 debut in 2011 with Hispania, joining Toro Rosso the following season.
In 2014 he moved up to Red Bull, leaving for Renault at the end of 2018 as it became clear that teammate Max Verstappen was the favoured driver.
Despite the big money he was receiving at Renault, the Australian was tempted to join McLaren for 2021, however things never seemed to gel for him at Woking, firstly in terms of being happy with the car and then being openly criticised by team boss Zak Brown, even though Ricciardo had given the team its first Grand Prix win in nine seasons.