Former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo is set for a sensational return to his previous Formula1 team as a reserve driver after not finding a racing seat on the grid for the 2023 season.
The news of his return is being reported after Red Bull’s advisor Helmut Marko gave an interview to German media.
“Ricciardo will be our third driver,” Marko told broadcaster Sky Germany on Friday at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “We have so many sponsors, we have to do show runs and the like, so of course, he’s one of the most high-profile and best-suited,”.
The 33-year-old Australian had no drive for next season after being bought out by McLaren in favour of Oscar Piastri. The snub left him looking elsewhere but with most of the grid already filled, he had no other choice but to serve as a third driver or leave the championship altogether.
Mercedes and Red Bull were reportedly in the running for his services while Hass reportedly even offered him a role in place of the departing Mick Schumacher.
In the end, though, Daniel Ricciardo seems to have chosen Red Bull which seems to be a bittersweet homecoming of sorts.
He took seven of his eight wins with Red Bull and twice finished third in the overall driver’s standings with the team.
But with the rise of now two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen, he decided to leave the team at the end of 2018. He is now set to join former teammate Verstappen and Mexican Sergio Perez at the Milton Keynes-based squad.
Both Verstappen and Perez have multiple-year deals with the team already in place, meaning Riccardo may be on the move again next year if he wants to return to racing.
