It has been reported by ESPN that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner played no role in the sacking of Nyck de Vries, who will not feature for AlphaTauri again this season.
Whilst Horner isn’t in charge of AlphaTauri, De Vries is being replaced by Red Bull development driver Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of 2023.
Ricciardo will drive alongside Yuki Tsunoda starting from next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, at a team he hasn’t raced for since 2013.
Ricciardo raced for AlphaTauri in 2013 whilst they were known as Toro Rosso, before moving to Red Bull in 2014 to replace Marko Webber.
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The eight-time race winner has seemingly done an excellent job for the Austrians as their development driver, with his work in the simulator having been praised by Horner.
The former McLaren driver is certainly still quick, following a test in Red Bull’s RB19 on Tuesday.
Ricciardo participated in a Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone for Red Bull, where his best time would’ve been good enough for the front row at the British Grand Prix last weekend.
Horner reportedly called advisor Dr. Helmut Marko just an hour into Ricciardo’s test, to inform him how well the fan favourite was doing.
Marko supposedly then dealt with the sacking of De Vries, before calling the Red Bull boss to update him on the situation.
There’s certainly a lot of excitement now that Ricciardo is returning to the grid, with AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost expecting the Red Bull sister team to “profit a lot from his experience”.
“There’s no doubt about his driving skills,” Tost said.
“He already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straightforward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.”
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Replacing De Vries is certainly not going to be easy for Ricciardo, given that AlphaTauri possess one of the worst cars on the grid.
Whilst he’ll need a race or two to settle in, Ricciardo will need to perform quickly, should he want a seat in 2024
Many wonder whether a good performance in the remainder of 2023 will see Ricciardo considered for Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat, should the Mexican continue to falter.