Daniel Ricciardo still has a point to prove in F1 and hopes to finish his career at Red Bull after landing spot in ‘second team’ AlphaTauri
Daniel Ricciardo has one more point to prove in F1 and hopes to complete his Red Bull career after landing in ‘second team’ AlphaTauri
- Ricciardo is preparing for the GP of the Netherlands
- Is back in good shape
- Wants to end his career at Red Bull
A rejuvenated Daniel Ricciardo has revealed how he hopes to finish his career at Red Bull, with a place back in their world championship winning ‘big team’ at the top of his wish list.
The 34-year-old Australian comeback star said on Thursday he hopes to continue racing for a few more years before dropping the curtain on his impressive career within the Red Bull racing family, where he has enjoyed his most significant successes.
Ricciardo is currently back in action with Red Bull-owned ‘second team’ AlphaTauri, which he joined last month after a break following his departure at the end of 2022 after a disappointing stint at McLaren, replacing another Australian Oscar Piastri in has taken service.
But Ricciardo, who has made an encouraging return to form, says it would be a “dream” to eventually rejoin the Red Bull Racing team that dominates the sport.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull’s Mexican number two, will be out of contract at the end of next season as a teammate of two-time world champion Max Verstappen. Ricciardo hopes to prove by then that he is still good enough to race for the team with whom he won seven. eight Grand Prix.
A rejuvenated Daniel Ricciardo says he has a point to prove and wants to end his career at Red Bull
Ricciardo previously had his best years driving for Red Bull, pictured celebrating victory in the 2018 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix
Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix Red at Zandvoort on Thursday, Ricciardo said: “Now that I’m back in the Red Bull family, this is the only place I want to be and stay.
“No matter how long my career is, it’s the place where I want to end my career.
“It feels like this is the perfect way to finish this second part of my career and of course the dream is to return to the big team. But if not, then I’ve made it clear that I want to be here (at AlphaTauri).’
The Australian still feels he has a ‘point to prove’ after his two disappointing years at McLaren.
“There’s not too much pressure. I feel like I have a point to prove. But I don’t put too much weight on that,’ he said.
“I want to race for a few more years. Six months ago that wasn’t my answer… It feels like 10 years ago, I feel like I have that young energy and motivation again.
“I want to go back to the early days and the real roots and the core of why I got into this and the things that motivated me, just take it all back and get back to the pure joy of the sport and the love for it.”
Ricciardo currently drives for AlphaTauri, the second Red Bulls team in the Formula 1 championship
Despite all his setbacks, Ricciardo has remained positive and optimistic for a strong finish to his F1 career
Ricciardo said that although he had missed the first ten races of the season, it had given him more time to hone his fitness.
“I definitely took care of my body more than I normally would on a summer vacation,” he said.
“This second chapter of my career I think about things differently. I’m in a very good place and take it seriously.’
Ricciardo said he felt he had made a good start in Hungary and Belgium but needed to make sure he didn’t fall back into “old habits”.
When asked what it could be, the Australian joked: ‘Sometimes I just talk and things come out.
“If the results aren’t going well, it’s hard to be a positive ball of energy. I am now aware that I am falling into negativity.
“Through experience I now know what is the right path and what is not.”