Ricciardo is to test in a Red Bull this year
Thursday, 20 April 2023
The Australian will take to the driver’s seat in the Red Bull.
Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo would “do a bit of testing for us later in the year” when speaking in Australia.
Ricciardo returned to the Red Bull team in a third driver role after two difficult seasons at McLaren in 2021 and 2022.
The Perth-born driver made his Formula 1® debut in 2011 with the Red Bull family. Riccardo started with Hispania Racing midway through the season before moving to Toro Rosso (AlphaTauri) in 2012 and then progressing to the senior team in 2014.
Ricciardo’s time at Red Bull saw him walk away with seven wins and 29 podiums.
Ricciardo returned to the FORMULA 1 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2023 in a Red Bull kit to the delight of Australian fans.
“It’s great to have him back in blue and back in the team. He’s really throwing himself into it,” Horner said over the weekend.
“[He’s] sitting in all the briefings, he’s been working hard on the simulator as well, doing some race support and some development work on that.”
“Daniel’s just a positive energy to have around and it’s great to see him getting his mojo back, to see that big smile on his face – he lights up a room when he walks in.”
“His popularity in Formula 1… even though he’s not driving, he’s still probably the most popular driver here, and for us, it’s just positive to have him in the team, contributing to the team, to the drivers, to the engineering team.”
“Hopefully he’ll rediscover his love for the sport. He’ll do a bit of testing for us later in the year and we’ll see how that how that goes for him. But I think it’s a different experience. He’s thrown himself [in] and [is] embracing this new role.”
Horner confirmed that Daniel would be ready to jump in the car on a race weekend should Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez not be able to drive.
