Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo may be running out of time to fulfill his dream of completing a return to Red Bull. But that won’t make him feel as miserable as his two-year stint at McLaren did.

Ricciardo joined McLaren in 2021 after spending two underwhelming seasons at Renault. He had hoped for a more successful stint in Woking, as the papaya outfit showed signs of significant progress. Unfortunately for him, his teammate Lando Norris comprehensively outperformed him over those two seasons, leading McLaren to cut his stay short despite a year remaining on his contract.

In an interview with Planet F1, Ricciardo admitted that he was in a different place mentally, while at McLaren.

“Whatever happens from this point moving forward in my future, I will certainly, whatever day it is that I leave the sport, I won’t feel those feelings that I felt then,” 

Daniel saying that regardless of the direction his career goes, it won’t negatively impact his mindset like McLaren did pic.twitter.com/MPlTRaOEOs

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Ricciardo spoke about how in his second year at McLaren, he lost interest in racing. The trauma did not mess only with his on-track performance, but also his life away from F1. As a result, Ricciardo did not mind spending a year on the sidelines when McLaren cut his deal short in 2023.

Midway through that year, however, Ricciardo made a comeback with AlphaTauri (now RB), and he was finally happy. It felt like a homecoming for him, and being part of the Red Bull family again brought a smile to his face. That’s likely why not getting a chance to be Max Verstappen’s teammate hasn’t been too tough on him.

Ricciardo’s chances of joining Red Bull 

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has not completely ruled a Ricciardo return out. Sergio Perez‘s form has been dismal, and if the Mexican driver’s underperformances cost the team the Constructors’ title, Red Bull could be forced to look at alternatives.

Ricciardo, however, is not the only driver in the running to replace Perez. Liam Lawson reportedly has a clause in his contract that will allow him to leave the Red Bull fraternity if he doesn’t secure a seat in F1 next year. In a conversation with Sky Sports, Horner said

“Nothing is fixed. At the moment, we’ve still got a few weeks to make those decisions. With Daniel and Liam, there are options within their agreements that, obviously, we won’t talk about in public until things are concluded.”

Perez could still hold on to his Red Bull seat, but much depends on how the remaining nine races of the season unfold. The Milton Keynes-based team is just 30 points ahead of second-placed McLaren in the standings, leaving them in a precarious position where they could lose their top spot in the weeks to come.