Daniel Ricciardo is excited to embark on the next phase of his Formula 1 career due to the “shared path” of his comeback and the trajectory of the AlphaTauri team.
The Australian, who was dropped by McLaren at the end of 2022, replaced the ousted Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri midway through this season to his full-time F1 return.
Ricciardo, 34, will remain next year alongside Yuki Tsunoda, who will compete in his fourth season in F1, as part of the team’s shift away from being exclusively a place for Red Bull Junior drivers to develop in the top flight.
Red Bull confirmed earlier this year that the side would not be sold and will instead take advantage of forging a closer technical collaboration with the parent company.
The Faenza-based squad will undergo a rebrand ahead of the next season under a new leadership structure comprising team boss Laurent Mekies and CEO Peter Bayer.
With AlphaTauri rising from the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship to eighth in the closing rounds, Ricciardo is relishing what could be possible for the team in 2024.
“I think there’s some things we found in the car as the season went on,” he said. “We brought an upgrade here [to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix], I think it was positive.
“I feel like we’re going in the right direction. And everything I’ve fed back to the team I feel like they’ve actioned or done their best to make it happen or make it work.
“I honestly can’t ask for too much more at the moment. Obviously now it’s all about how quickly can we get new parts on the car.
“I feel like they’re not here and I’m here, we’re all meeting in the right place and looking ahead. I think they value the experience I have, and I think that’s really important moving forward.
“They’re motivating. I feel like this is not a junior team anymore and I think with a lot of plans for next year hopefully we can prove that on track and get more points like the last few races.”
Ricciardo has repeatedly admitted that his ultimate ambition is to end his F1 career with Red Bull, with current incumbent Sergio Perez under pressure after a tough 2023.
But Ricciardo is positive about the direction the Austrian outfit’s second-string team is heading in and is relieved that AlphaTauri view him as a race-winning capable driver and not the one who struggled at McLaren.
“I feel like there’s a lot for me coming back in that’s exciting,” he added.
“There’s also a team that’s rebuilding and a little bit how I have done this phase of my career, so we’re all on a similar path. So I’d say there’s a lot of confidence.
“I think in Yuki’s season he stepped up a lot and proved himself, and the team has a lot of faith in me. I think they still see me as a Red Bull driver and the results I had and not as a McLaren driver and the results I had, so we’re all in a good place.”
Although AlphaTauri missed out on pipping Williams to seventh place, Ricciardo was enthused by the progress it made after encountering a troubled start to the year.
“I obviously I wasn’t onboard for the first part of the season,” he noted. “But the way the team turned it around, obviously [with] the updates. I’d like to think myself and Yuki pushed each other a little bit and that was positive for the team.
“I think there’s a lot that the team can be excited for moving into next year. Of course seventh would be nice, but a few races ago we’re talking about not finishing 10th, so the seventh was kind of a bonus and gives us something more to fight for next year.”
