As Daniel Ricciardo competed in only seven grands prix through the 2023 season, his ranking takes his reduced participation into account
In a Formula 1 career that had left him among the most successful drivers of the modern era not to have won a world championship title, Daniel Ricciardo had never endured a season like 2022.
If his first campaign with McLaren in 2021 was a disappointment, then year two was no short of a disaster. As Lando Norris was fighting off faster cars and almost always finishing inside the top eight, Ricciardo only secured four top eight finishes all season long. The 85 points between them at the end of the season was not a gap, but a chasm. As universally beloved as Ricciardo was in the paddock, few could argue McLaren’s decision to cut him loose two years into his three-year deal wasn’t fully justified.
Cast out from his race seat, Ricciardo sought sanctuary in his original home of Red Bull, which was more than happy to welcome home one of the most charismatic and marketable drivers of his generation, and one capable of much more than he’d shown at McLaren. As much as Ricciardo embraced the opportunity to be free from the everyday pressures and stresses of being a grand prix driver, he was soon itching for a return to the cockpit and was very open about that desire. He would not be left waiting long.
Following the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in early July, rookie Nyck de Vries was unceremoniously jettisoned from his AT04 by executive decision of AlphaTauri’s Red Bull overlords. In his place, they chose not to give young Liam Lawson his first opportunity in Formula 1 but, instead, send their recently reacquired Ricciardo back to the Faenza factory he which has been his home in 2012 and 2013.
As thrilled as fans and paddock dwellers alike were to see the ‘Honey Badger’ back on the grid, Ricciardo had a lot to prove following his poor performances at McLaren. However, over three days of his first grand prix weekend back in a Formula 1 car, he did much to banish the memories of the last two years. Driving an unfamiliar car with an experimental tyre allocation format which limited his ability to gather experience on all three compounds as usual, Ricciardo still got through to Q2, unlike team mate Yuki Tsunoda, securing 13th on the grid. Despite being hit from behind at the start, he brought the car to the finish 15 seconds ahead of Tsunoda to instantly prove Red Bull right…
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