Daniel Ricciardo joined AlphaTauri mid-season to fuel his quest of securing the second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen. He sensed an opening owing to Sergio Perez’s struggle and thus chose to contest in the sister team. However, Ricciardo’s quest came to an abrupt halt due to a wrist injury he sustained at the Dutch Grand Prix.
An unfortunate collision on the barriers during free practice broke Daniel Ricciardo’s wrist, which kept him out for five race weekends. While many labeled it as a big dent in his Red Bull seat quest, the Australian driver made a roaring comeback at the recently concluded Mexico Grand Prix. Needless to say, his salient efforts did not go unnoticed.
Red Bull Senior Labels Daniel Ricciardo’s Mexico GP Performance “Good Recommendation For Future”
Daniel Ricciardo made waves just a week after his return from a grievous wrist injury. He outqualified Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in his AlphaTauri in front of the former’s home crowd during the qualifying session. While Checo struggled to manage P5, the Australian driver swayed past him to secure P4, his best-ever finish in recent times. Not only that, Daniel managed to carry on the momentum during the race and earned some points by claiming P7. Checo, on the other hand, faced a DNF at his home Grand Prix due to contact with Charles Leclerc at turn one of the initial lap. As they say, one person’s loss is another one’s gain. The same could be held true in Daniel Ricciardo’s case.
Sergio Perez’s yet another failure has strengthened his quest to secure Red Bull’s second seat. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing’s senior advisor, took note of Ricciardo’s exceptional performance in Mexico. He said that the Australian showed resilience by making a strong comeback after an injury. Moreover, his recent performance will be viewed as a strong recommendation for his future. While Marko did not clarify his statements, it’s pretty clear by now that he was hinting at Daniel’s contendorship for Red Bull’s second seat. While the team is committed to adhering to Checo’s contract, which runs through 2024, things could change in the near future. If Red Bull feels Checo can no longer contribute to their championship quest, their preferred replacement is Daniel Ricciardo.
Daniel Ricciardo Opens On Events That Led To Mexico GP Heroics!
Regaining the lost confidence played a key role in Daniel Ricciardo’s run to out-qualify Sergio Perez of Red Bull at the Mexico GP. Post-race, the Australian driver reviewed his performance. He said that getting the corner entry right was vital. As a driver, he derives immense confidence from getting that of the race right. Ricciardo feels that once he gets the corner entry right, it makes the mid-corner run and exit simpler.
Daniel Ricciardo also added that with AlphaTauri, he has had the privilege to have the car set up according to his liking. That has helped him learn and grow more as a driver. He missed this thing in McLaren, which led to a massive drop in confidence. But with Red Bull Racing’s sister team, he is working on getting it back. “And hopefully, this is the start of a consistently faster AlphaTauri,” concluded Daniel Ricciardo.