Daniel Ricciardo has enjoyed a very good week so far, with the Australian having not only tested Red Bull’s RB19 but having been confirmed as an AlphaTauri driver for the remainder of the season.
The fan favourite drove Red Bull’s dominant 2023 car at Silverstone on Tuesday, in a Pirelli tyre test.
Supposedly, Red Bull boss Christian Horner called advisor Dr. Helmut Marko after just an hour of running, to inform the 80-year-old how well Ricciardo was performing.
As a result, it was quickly announced that Ricciardo would be replacing rookie Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri for the rest of 2023, starting next weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Ricciardo is returning to Red Bull’s sister side for the first-time since 2013, prior to his move to the Milton Keynes-based team in 2014.
He switched to Red Bull in 2014 to replace fellow Australian Mark Webber, who retired from Formula 1.
This put the 33-year-old alongside four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who actually surprised the Aussie on Tuesday.
In a video now on social media Vettel is seen offering Ricciardo – who was sitting in the RB19 – a drink whilst also showing him some documents, before the new AlphaTauri driver realised who it was giving it to him.
Ricciardo could be seen beaming once he realised it was Vettel, before the pair got into a deep conversation presumably about the car.
Incredibly, Ricciardo and Vettel were only team-mates for the 2014 season, as the German moved to Ferrari in 2015 to replace Fernando Alonso.
Based on the footage, they clearly remain as good friends.
Vettel was also spotted in the Mercedes garage on Tuesday with the Silver Arrows’ reserve driver, Mick Schumacher.
Schumacher was testing the W12 – Mercedes’ 2021 car – at the Silverstone International Circuit, ahead of an appearance this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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Vettel and Schumacher were often spotted together throughout 2021 and 2022, when both drivers were on the grid.
Vettel, of course, retired from F1 at the end of 2022, whilst Schumacher wasn’t offered a new contract by Haas.
The pair clearly remain very close, something which shouldn’t come as a surprise.