Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren Formula 1 driver, is set to join his ex-team Red Bull. Zak Brown, former boss, reckons that it can turn around his F1 career.
The Australian decided to part ways with McLaren. He decided to conclude his partnership after he failed to accomplish his expected results.
Ricciardo assessed his options for 2023 and decided to take a break from full time role. He agreed to become the third driver for Red Bull next season, He is is hoping for an active seat in 2024.
Many questioned whether Ricciardo has take the right route to keep himself in F1 limelight. Brown, McLaren CEO, believes the decision provides an opportunity for an immediate revival. The Australian can market himself for the F1 championship title.
McLaren’s boss recalls Nyck de Vries, former Mercedes reserve driver, who took the similar path at Williams. Vries opted for a stand-in for Alex Albon at Italian GP and his performance landed him at AlphaTauri for 2023.
“Look at what happened with Nyck with one good session,” said Brown. “All of a sudden he became hot property.
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“So if one of those guys [at Red Bull] couldn’t race for some reason. And he [Ricciardo] hopped in and all of a sudden he took that car to where it is now. It can just turn on a dime.”
Ricciardo also had a chance of opting for a full-time seat at Haas. Brown shared his opinion whether Red Bull or Haas will yield intended results. He said: “It’s hard to tell. In one sense if you go to Haas and then you give it to [Kevin] Magnussen that’s one way to kind of get back on the radar.
“The other is a [Red Bull] driver gets COVID. You’re in a race-winning car, you go out to win the race, and you’re back on the grid. So I think it’s hard to say which will create the best opportunity.”
Brown expressed surprise on discovering that other teams did not snap the Honey Badger on his availability.
“I’m surprised some of the other teams that looked for drivers didn’t select him,” he said. “But also I think there were certain teams he wasn’t interested in driving for. So maybe they would have selected him.
“But he clearly wants to stay in the game. He won Monza last year; eight races is a lot of races to win. So it’s in there, we just weren’t able to unlock it. And hopefully in another environment, something will unlock it, because I think we’d like to see Daniel on the grid.”
