Australian F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has told how a test drive earlier this year saved his career.
The 34-year-old Ricciardo was in sporting limbo at the time after being fired by Maclaren and eventually signed as a reserve driver for Red Bull this season.
After the British Grand Prix on July 10 at the Silverstone circuit, the Perth-born driver stunned Red Bull officials after setting a stellar time that was fractionally behind Max Verstappen, who had secured pole position days earlier.
A set of new tires had made a big difference, and suddenly Ricciardo was reborn.
“I'm not going to sugar coat it. The first timed lap was for the money,” he told F1s Beyond the grid podcast.
'It was (only) a few hundredths away from Max (Verstappen).
“Going into that round, I was so excited. I treated it like a qualifying round.
Australian F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has told how a test drive at Silverstone earlier this year saved his career
At the time, Ricciardo, 34, was in sporting limbo after being sacked by Maclaren, eventually signing as a reserve driver for Red Bull
'I just had that feeling in the car and that confidence. There were elements of the car that felt so familiar… I just knew what he could do and what he was capable of.”
Ricciardo – who finished the season at Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri after replacing Nyck de Vries – admitted he was delighted at the time.
Verstappen's time to secure pole position was a smooth 1:26.720.
“I'm not going to say it was easy or effortless, but I had a lot of confidence that the car could do what it could do,” he added.
“When I crossed the line, when I looked at the time, I thought, 'I don't know if I expected to go that fast.
'I knew it could be a very good day, but I would be lying if I said I would do that first lap with new tires. That was pretty wild. It gave me a big smile.'
At the same Grand Prix in England, Ricciardo was reunited with former Red Bull teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Former Red Bull teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel caught up at the Silverstone circuit in July
The pair raced for Red Bull in 2014 and have remained close since, with Ricciardo praising Vettel for being a 'true friend' as he battled through a horror season with McLaren in 2022.
The Australian eventually returned to the F1 grid, representing Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri (pictured) this season
Vettel spent the 2014 season with Ricciardo at Red Bull before leaving for Ferrari, but the pair have remained close friends.
Ricciardo also stated that the German superstar had been a 'true friend' as he struggled to make an impact at McLaren.
“He's answered the phone several times and just been a friend, and just shown care, just checked in, checked in like a true friend would,” he said.
'It's so important to have friends like that. But it's also not that common when it comes to the grid.
“We get along well with drivers, and you do build friendships, but to have such a deeper level of friendship…some of the gestures he made and some of the kindness he showed towards me was in a way quite unexpected. .'
Ricciardo returned to Red Bull this year as a reserve driver after parting ways with McLaren twelve months earlier than planned after two unsuccessful seasons.