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Red Bull boss Christian Horner has nothing but positive things to say about Daniel Ricciardo's return to F1. The Australian returned to the sport this season with AlphaTauri, replacing Nyck de Vries. Ricciardo has had decent results in the three races he has been a part of.
The first race in Hungary saw him outqualify and out-race Yuki Tsunoda. The second and third races in Belgium (the sprint and the main Grand Prix) were a mixed bag. Daniel Ricciardo almost snatched a points-scoring finish in the sprint while the main race was not fruitful as he was stuck in traffic.
Christian Horner was very positive in his feedback of the Aussie as he felt that an underprepared Daniel Ricciardo did a brilliant job.
“I thought in very difficult circumstances for him, getting dropped in the car he’d never sat in before, I thought he did very, very well. I thought, you know, to qualify, and be in the top 13. He was a little unlucky at the start of the race, but then when you look at his pace, his race pace, particularly that long run on the medium tire in the second half of the race, his pace was extremely good," he was quoted as saying by PlanetF1.
“I thought for a comeback drive in difficult circumstances, he actually acquitted himself very, very well. I think he met [expectations]. I mean, seeing what he did at Silverstone the previous Tuesday in the tire test, I think after that expectations changed. What it’s brought to AlphaTauri is a huge amount of experience and possibly some direction, obviously with the experience that he brings as a grand prix winner,” Horner added.
Horner admits Daniel Ricciardo is eyeing a seat at Red Bull in 2025
When questioned about the future and how the relationship between the driver and the team will evolve, Horner admitted that Ricciardo is eyeing a seat at Red Bull in 2025.
Sergio Perez will be out of his contract in 2015, and if his current form is something to go by, a renewal might be tough.
“Obviously, the reason that Daniel was brought back into the seat is not because he has long-term aspirations to be an AlphaTauri driver for the next five years,” Horner explained. “He sees it as the quickest route to getting back into a competitive seat."
“I think that clearly, his objectives are on a 2025 Red Bull Racing seat when we have obviously a vacancy. Now, Daniel has an opportunity between now and the end of the year to demonstrate that he hasn’t lost any of his form and then a decision will be made as to whether he remains in that seat for a further 12 months," he added.
Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping to make a bigger splash in F1 after the summer break as he would be far better prepared for the challenge in front of him.
