Daniel Ricciardo has conceded to not feeling scared of the challenge he faces at AlphaTauri, and is fully aware of what is required if he wants to secure a return to Red Bull.
After eight months on the sidelines after leaving McLaren at the end of last season, Ricciardo is back in F1 this weekend, taking over a seat at AlphaTauri after Nyck de Vries was brutally axed just 10 months into his rookie season.
Following a run-out in the RB19 at Silverstone last Tuesday, Red Bull third driver Ricciardo delivered lap times impressive enough for advisor Helmut Marko to decide he was worthy of a comeback and to dump Dutchman de Vries.
For Ricciardo, more than 11 years after joining Toro Rosso, he said: “I’m excited about it. It’s a challenge to jump in and to try to hit the ground running.
“But I also feel like I’ve been through a lot the last year, or even the last few years, where I’m not really scared of anything that’s going to be thrown my way.
“For that, I actually really do like the challenge, and I say challenge because yes, it will be a challenge. But I don’t know if I’d have it any other way.”
Speaking in an interview with Formula 1, he added: “The start of the year, going back to the Red Bull family felt like full circle.
“Now, going back to AlphaTauri, it’s all very full circle, but I understand this is my journey back. This is the process and the path and I’m ready to embrace it.”
The problem is, Ricciardo is joining a team that is bottom of the F1 constructors’ standings, and in a car that has secured a high of just two 10th-place finishes this year courtesy of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
Whilst external expectations will likely be high, a conservative Ricciardo remarked: “I’m not setting anything. The car will be what it is. I’m going to drive it and then work from there. I don’t want to get any pre-conceived ideas.
“I appreciate the car is going to have its limitations. I’m sure it’s probably just lacking some overall downforce and things like this.
“But if it’s a car that feels balanced, it might not have as much grip as a Red Bull I drove a few days ago, but if it feels relatively balanced, then that’s something I can work with.
“I’m looking forward to also developing it and using my experience, but ultimately, I think for Budapest, just go out and have fun, just try and use more right foot than left, and have a good time.”
In the back of Ricciardo’s mind, however, will be the prospect of a return to Red Bull, a team he left in 2018 as he felt he was being pushed to one side due to its focus on Max Verstappen.
Initially assessing what is expected from him inside Red Bull, he initially joked: “Just be a legend really!”
He then added: “They expect results, performances, but until I get in the car, it’s hard to define what that is.
“Is it a P8, a P14? I don’t think there’s pressure. Until the summer break, obviously, there are two races and then the summer break.
“I don’t think there’s a ‘You have to do this before August’. I also don’t expect to get off to a slow start. I want to hit the ground running and try and use what I’ve learned in this time off to put it to use.”
Should he deliver, however, he is fully aware of what is at stake, particularly if Sergio Perez continues to under-perform this year, or at the latest, when his contract expires at the end of next year.
“It feels a bit like when I was working my way up through the Red Bull family,” assessed Ricciardo.
“It was like, if you get results, we’ll keep pushing you, so that’s really the mindset.
“I know it’s been tough (for AlphaTauri) to get a points finish this year, a top 10, so to push this car and try to get it inside the top 10, I think that would make everyone pretty fulfilled and excited.”
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