Red Bull development driver and eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo revealed that he’s “staying ready” for a potential call-up, ahead of him taking Nyck de Vries’ seat at AlphaTauri.
Earlier, it had been reported that the Australian could replace De Vries following the summer break, at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Ricciardo’s performance on Tuesday in a Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone was believed to be crucial to Red Bull’s plans for De Vries, and whether they switch the duo.
The Aussie was very “excited” to drive the RB19, with him having had “enough of a break”.
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“Very much so!” Ricciardo told SpeedCity Broadcasting.
“I’m hanging out just to drive in general. I’ve had enough of a break now where I’ve got ants in my pants, in a positive way.
“But of course it’s a phenomenal car and I’m excited to feel it round [Silverstone], and on such a high-speed circuit as well.”
Ricciardo is also pushing for a seat on the grid in 2024, something which could be difficult to achieve given the lack of seats available.
The 33-year-old does miss racing in F1 but is “confident” that he will return “one day”, the big question though is when.
“Yeah, of course [I miss it], this is my favourite part of the race weekend – the build-up part to the race,” he said.
“When you’re about 10-15 minutes out, it’s really awesome and the grid gets packed, it’s a bit of a zoo and it’s chaos but it’s kind of a fun chaos. So I do miss it, but it’s all good.
“I’m letting it all happen as it comes and I have confidence I’ll be back on the grid at some point. Obviously I’m not 100% sure of it, but I’m confident it will happen again one day.”
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Ricciardo refused to comment on whether he’d be replacing De Vries but insisted that he is “staying ready” for any situation.
“Never know, never know,” Ricciardo said in regard to possibly replacing De Vries.
“I’m staying ready. I sat on the couch for two months over Christmas but since then I’ve been getting back into my training and enjoying it.”