Daniel Ricciardo will return to the F1 grid following his departure from McLaren at the end of the 2022 season; Nyck de Vries debut F1 campaign has ended after just 10 races; watch Ricciardo's return at the Hungarian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from July 21-23
Wednesday 12 July 2023 05:57, UK
Daniel Ricciardo will return to the Formula 1 grid with AlphaTauri after replacing Nyck de Vries with immediate effect.
The 34-year-old Australian has been loaned out by Red Bull - for whom he was serving as third driver - to their junior team for the remainder of his one-year contract.
Having waited a long time for an opportunity in F1, former Mercedes reserve driver De Vries has been dropped just 10 races into his rookie season.
"I'm very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team," AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost said.
"There's no doubt about his driving skills, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straightforward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner."
The decision to send Ricciardo to AlphaTauri comes after he made a positive impression on Tuesday driving Red Bull's RB19 for the first time in a tyre test at Silverstone.
Ricciardo was considered one of the top drivers in the sport when he ended his first stint with Red Bull in 2018, but failed to reproduce that form in spells with Renault and McLaren before being released by the latter at the end of the 2022 season.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "It is great to see Daniel hasn't lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his SIM sessions translate on track.
"His times during the tyre test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri."
Ricciardo's decision to take up the opportunity to join AlphaTauri, who are last in the constructors' standings, comes as somewhat of a surprise given his previous insistence that he only wanted to return to the grid in a car competing at the front.
He will make his return in the Hungarian Grand Prix, which is live on Sky Sports F1 from July 21-23, with only the Belgian Grand Prix following before the sport shuts down for its summer break.
Ricciardo added: "I'm stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!"
For De Vries, a torrid debut campaign, in which he sits last in the drivers' standings and without a point, comes to an early end.
De Vries, at the time serving as Mercedes reserve driver, delivered a hugely impressive performance at last year's Italian Grand Prix when stepping up to replace an unwell Alex Albon at short notice.
He qualified eighth before taking ninth in the race to secure a rare points-scoring finish for Williams, and in the process put himself in the frame for several seats that were available for 2023.
The 28-year-old ended up with AlphaTauri, but has failed to live up to expectations in being comprehensively outperformed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
"I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia AlphaTauri and I wish him all the best for the future," Tost said.
While the decision to end his debut campaign so early is undoubtedly harsh, as pressure grew over recent weeks De Vries has shown little sign of improvement, qualifying and finishing in the bottom three in each of his last three races.
De Vries has proven he is an adequate test or reserve driver for an F1 team, but his prospects of getting another chance in a race seat in the near future would appear to be bleak.
Sky Sports News reporter Craig slater analyses AlphaTauri's decision to replace Nyck de Vries with Daniel Ricciardo:
This is tough on De Vries who was in that car at 28 years of age. I've spoken to him at a number of events and he's faced questions about whether he would last the season? He's been coming out with the line that he believes in the Red Bull team, the extended Red Bull team. We have to remember that Alpha Tauri, with whom he's lost this seat, is the Red Bull junior team.
Christian Horner and Dr. Helmut Marko have the final say, ultimately, on who races in that car and it's seemed that for a while now his seat has been under threat. Finally he's been let go today [Tuesday].
It's fascinating that Daniel Ricciardo comes back in on the day that he has tested this year's Red Bull Car at Silverstone. That's the first time he's been in up-to-date Formula 1 machinery since he lost his drive at McLaren at the end of last season.
He talks about being stoked to be back in the Red Bull family and he will be seeing out the remainder of the season.
One or two people I've spoken to are interested that he has accepted driving for AlphaTauri again. That was his first full-time Formula 1 seat, but he's since gone on to win eight Grands Prix. He's been a lead driver and has been one of the best paid drivers in F1, earning a salary of in excess of £30m when he drove for Alpine, formerly the Renault team.
But he had that difficult time at McLaren when he did not adjust to the car. He still won a race, but was a long way off Lando Norris' pace and they were prepared to let him go for the young fellow Australian Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo, at the end of last season, looked like he'd lost his mojo a little bit. By his own admission he thought he had to go away, recharge the batteries, get his headspace right. Clearly he's done that now.
I spoke to him in Miami and talked about wanting to be back on the grid next year. He's back on the grid with another half a season to go, so I think it makes sense.
Will he be driving next season for AlphaTauri? Conceivably. This is a team which is also transitioning from a much more independent set-up to a team which will take as many parts as possible from Red Bull next season. They're going to be much more closely affiliated with them and take all the car parts they legally can.
They've got a new team principal coming in as well. Chief executive Peter Bayer explained to me that maybe rather than just running junior drivers, it might make sense to have a young driver and someone experienced like Daniel Ricciardo, although you can only really see this being maybe a short-term arrangement for both parties.
Watch Daniel Ricciardo's return to the Formula 1 grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix from July 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1.
