Daniel Ricciardo will try to push his Red Bull Racing dream out of his mind when he lines up on the grid at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo will race for the first time in almost eight months after getting the call-up to replace the maligned Nyck de Vries as part of a 12-race plan to assess the possibility of a return to the senior team.
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner says Ricciardo’s objective is to take Sergio Pérez’s seat in 2025, though speculation of an earlier switch will swirl for as long as the Mexican remains out of form in the best car on the grid.
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Aussie eight-time race winner Ricciardo acknowledged the pressure was on to wipe clean the slate muddied by two woeful seasons at McLaren but said his aim was to remain focused on getting the most from his AlphaTauri package rather than become distracted by his long-term goals.
“There is no point in me thinking about that,” he said, per Racer.
“Obviously the dream is a Red Bull seat, but there’s no like, ‘This is what you need to do’.
“The test was the first box I needed to tick. That was great. But now it’s like another hurdle. They are not like, ‘Take it easy’. They are like, ‘Show us what you’ve got’.
“There’s no real criteria at the moment, but I need to show something for sure. For next year and beyond there are no guarantees.”
But Ricciardo said he felt enlivened by the opportunity to restore his reputation.
“I think already getting another opportunity, it’s kind of another chance to make things better,” he said. “I think that’s as well why I was excited to get back behind the wheel and just kind of show my true self. Even the thought of that excites me.”
There have been concerns that Ricciardo could be setting himself up to succumb to the same problems that dogged him at McLaren — namely, a difficult adapting to car instability on corner entry.
The AlphaTauri is also deficient on the brakes, though the problem seems to be a skittish rear axle rather than the weak front end that has afflicted McLaren’s recent cars.
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The 34-year-old said he was confident he could avoid a repeat thanks to a new mindset developed during his time away from the sport.
“There was a lot I learned,” he said. “Having the last six months to reflect on my career, I’ve been able to see a few things where, ‘Oh yeah, I would have probably done that a bit different’, or, ‘I should have probably changed that or spoken up about that’.
“[Until] last week I hadn’t driven a car in eight months. I haven’t really been doing anything driving-wise. I haven’t driven F3s or go-carts. I’ve just been really switching off from that.
“I appreciate the [Red Bull] is very good, it’s the best on the grid at the moment, but I just got in it and I drove. I didn’t really think about anything, I just drove and had fun.
“As a junior coming up you are pretty ignorant and you don’t know much. You just race cars because it’s what you love doing.
“There’s going to be a lot to learn, and I’m not going to solve everything this weekend. So it’s just really about focusing on using the things I do well, and I think that will translate into some more positive outcomes.”
Ricciardo was unwilling to put any concrete targets on his next two races, comprising back-to-back rounds in Hungary and Belgium, other than to explore his potential in the car ranked last in the constructors championship.
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“In terms of expectation, there is none,” he said. “For me, everything I felt driving the car last week is what I want from racing — to be in the moment, enjoying it and not thinking too far ahead.
“I know the car is going to have some limitations, but I’ve got to do the best with what I’ve got. If it’s something I think I can work with, then that’s all I need to feel good behind the wheel again and use some of my experience to push the team.
“I kind of like that I’ve got two races and then the break, so I’ve got some things to think about over the course of the break. I’m going to try and soak up as much of these two as I can, and then obviously come Zandvoort have a little bit more of a guidance or awareness of where I expect to be for myself.
“As far as this weekend goes, if you ask me where I want to finish, I couldn’t tell you. I just want to know I put everything in to it and got a lap I can be proud of.”