After being jettisoned from McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo has landed at Red Bull for the 2023 Formula One season, where he will be the reserve driver behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
The 33-year-old Australian massively underwhelmed while at McLaren and his contract was terminated at the end of the 2022 season and with limited options available to him, the move is widely seen as a safety net for Red Bull after a contentious rift between Perez and Verstappen was exposed at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
As part of a further safety net for Red Bull, Ricciardo will be returning to the team where he won seven grands prix between 2014 and 2018, before leaving for Renault.
Ironically, Ricciardo left Red Bull because he reportedly felt – a la Perez – the team were becoming increasingly focused on Verstappen, without regard to his development.
Ricciardo scored two podiums for Renault – both in the Covid-19-addled 2020 F1 season – then departed for McLaren for the 2021 season. After joining McLaren, Ricciardo won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix – albeit due to some unusual circumstances – but has been unable to consistently be a threat for a podium, much less a victory.
Ricciardo finsihed the 2022 Formula One season in 11th place out of 22 drivers – with a measly 37 points.