Following his early release from McLaren, there were only a couple of options available for fan favourite driver Daniel Ricciardo.
Either the Australian could sign for a team like Haas and adapt to battling away at the back of the grid, or he takes a year away from the grid in the hope of securing a seat at a competitive team for 2024.
Ricciardo opted for the latter option and will spend 2023 serving as Red Bull’s third driver, taking part in simulator work and promotional activities to keep his name relevant in F1 and keep himself race ready.
It was the 33-year-old’s inability to match the feats of his young superstar McLaren teammate Lando Norris that eventually cost Ricciardo his place in F1, as Norris looked head and shoulders above the rest of the midfield drivers.
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The young Brit has now spoken about Ricciardo’s potential return to F1 next year, admitting that he would love to see his former teammate back on the grid.
“What was very good about Daniel was his experience of being a driver who’s won races, who’s achieves a lot in his career or Formula 1 and everyone rates as extremely high, or rates as one of the highest drivers on the grid in previous years,” he said.
“I would love to see Daniel on the grid because he’s a very talented driver. He’s a guy that everyone loves, for many reasons.
“He always makes races exciting and especially when he was with Red Bull in the past when he had a car which was capable of putting on a good show, then he was able to expose it and make the most of it.”
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The most recent McLaren F1 cars have catered to a very specific driving style and with Ricciardo becoming famous for his unique late braking, he found it hard to adapt his natural techniques.
The 33-year-old never quite became able to get the best out of his car, despite trying everything with the team to change his fortunes during his two years with McLaren.
It is currently unclear where Ricciardo hopes to end up in 2024, with every Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari driver set to stay with their current employers for the foreseeable futures, but as always with F1, expect the unexpected.