The ‘Honey Badger’ chose to bide his time as a reserve driver for the Red Bull-owned teams after McLaren terminated his contract in 2022. So what does he hope to achieve by accepting a seat at bottom-
Ever since he left the Red Bull stable in 2019 to join Renault (now Alpine), Ricciardo’s career has gone off the rails despite registering McLaren’s only win post 2012 (Italy 2021). He chose to take a demotion and become a reserve driver for the Red Bull-owned teams. Indeed, Ricciardo even had the measure of Max Verstappen, the two-time reigning champion, in the Dutch prodigy’s early years at Red Bull. But as Verstappen got quicker and shifted the balance of power towards him, Ricciardo felt he needed to leave the Red Bull nest to fly higher. Marko hired de Vries impulsively, and by casting him away similarly, has raised questions about the future of the junior programme and junior team.
Source: The Hindu July 21, 2023 20:54 UTC
