After six months on the sidelines, Ricciardo suddenly found himself thrust back into the F1 spotlight, and with a shot at redemption following, for the most part, his two ill-fated seasons with McLaren.
Rescued by Red Bull, the family he served so well for seven seasons in F1 from 2012 to 2018 – initially for two years with Toro Rosso before five with the senior team – Ricciardo found himself ‘back at home’.
Even if only taken on as a third driver, and to play a role in the team’s commercial and marketing activities, there was a welcoming arm around his shoulder from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, whilst his renowned trademark smile – missing for so long in those final, dark days at McLaren – was back in evidence.
When Ricciardo was given the opportunity to take to the wheel of the RB19 in a tyre test at Silverstone two days after the British Grand Prix in July, it was one he took with both hands.
Despite early spins during his first stint, as he shook off the ring rust, thankfully his confidence did not take a hit, so when he was allowed to do a qualifying simulation on low fuel and new tyres, he banked a time within a few hundredths of a second off of Max Verstappen’s pole lap a few days previously.
By the end of the day, Nyck de Vries was axed just 10 races into his rookie campaign, and Ricciardo had been handed his seat at AlphaTauri for the rest of the season.
Naturally unforeseen, and just three races into his comeback, was the crash in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix in which Ricciardo broke a bone in his left hand that sidelined him for five races during which time Liam Lawson made a name for himself.
New Zealander Lawson performed with such distinction, notably in the miserable conditions in Zandvoort and with almost zero knowledge of the AT04, and in scoring a superb ninth around the tricky streets of Singapore, that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko made clear the 21-year-old is virtually guaranteed a seat in 2025.
Ricciardo will not be too worried by Lawson’s presence, but Peter Bayer, CEO of AlphaTauri, which will change its name to Racing Bulls before the start of the new season, feels both he and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda must not take their eyes off the upcoming season to focus on the prospect of a drive with Red Bull next year when Sergio Perez is out of contract.
Suggested to Bayer, in an interview with Speedcafe, that the dynamic between Ricciardo and Tsunoda would likely change this season given what is at stake, he replied: “I don’t think so.
“We, as the Red Bull family, are known for high expectations, and we’re also known for making decisions, even halfway through a season if we have to.
“So I think it’s rather the other way around. There is this push and pull, this synergy, something that works for the team, for the mechanics, for everyone.
“If you do well in the junior team…and we’re always trying to move away from that, to be a proper Formula 1 team, but we have a lot of juniors pushing, like Liam, for example. He did a tremendous job, and it was a very difficult decision.
“So these two guys also know that if things don’t work out, we’ll have Liam waiting. Of course, they also know if they do super well there might be an opportunity.
“So I think that push-and-pull effect should lead to them focusing on the here and now, which I think they do a lot, honestly.”
Across the seven races as team-mates last year, honours were fairly even between Ricciardo and Tsunoda, suggesting it could be nip-and-tuck between them this year as to who will shine more brightly in the eyes of Marko and Horner, and whether they will be in consideration for a Red Bull drive in 2025.
Bayer insists his two drivers “have to show every single race that they’re able to deliver, that they’re fast, dedicated, that they’re on it.
“It’s down to making sure that they deliver on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, and that when you’re here, you collaborate with the team.
“But it’s important to leave them to it, and I truly believe they are 100 percent focused on the here and now.”
Bayer, though, was impressed with what Ricciardo brought to the table in his short time with the team, with his strengths coming to the fore to such an extent that even Tsunoda suggested the Perth man was a reference for him.
Bayer agrees, citing that for the team, Ricciardo made “a big difference, in many respects”.
“First of all, he’s a very experienced driver,” said Bayer. “He helped us with setup – tremendously! His feedback on setup is very precise.
“It’s not like he would say ‘I have an issue with the balance’. He will tell you there’s an issue with the rear in turn x, y, z, that he’s hitting the pedal and there’s something that doesn’t feel right, and asking the engineers to have a look.
“They will immediately look at the data and see there’s something with the differential or something like that, so he’s helping us a lot, and we can then translate that onto Yuki’s car, and it usually helps him.
“They have a slightly different driving style but in terms of the setup of the car, it’s helpful.
“He’s also helping on the strategic side. He will see something on track, that he’s stuck in a DRS train or something, that the car is not performing in a certain situation, and he will ask to pit to get some free air, so that experience is also helping us.
“He has also brought a lot of positive new energy to the team. He will cheer everyone up. He has been brilliant with that.
“Also, what I think is personally very, very important is that he is a true reference for Yuki.
“I also think, and maybe I shouldn’t say it, but Yuki needs that because he’s not yet a number one driver, and I think it helps him to have a more experienced driver with him.
“In fairness, we don’t have a number one. We have these two guys, one a bit more experienced, the other young and very fast.
“But at the same time, it helps him to position himself, to understand that, ‘Okay, I can still learn from this guy, even if I’m sometimes quicker’.”
It promises to be a fascinating battle between Ricciardo and Tsunoda this year, particularly with the ‘prize’ at stake, but also bearing in mind that for ‘the loser’, it could be their last season in F1.
