For the first time in 10 years, Daniel Ricciardo visited the Faenza factory as a driver for the team as the Australian driver gears up for his Formula One return at the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend.
Following the news that Nyck de Vries was fired and Ricciardo was drafted in following impressive times at the Pirelli tyre test with Red Bull Racing on Tuesday, the eight-time Grand Prix winner has wasted no times getting prepared.
As well as meeting employees, the Perth-born driver had a seat fitting in the AT04.
On his arrival, the 34-year-old was presented with a ‘Welcome Back Honey Badger – Day 1’ pass from Peter Bayer.
Ricciardo drove for the team previously under the Toro Rosso name in 2012 and 2013.
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
After scoring points on his debut at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix, it was some impressive qualifying performances during those two seasons that really marked him out as a future star and got him the drive at Red Bull for 2014.
6th in Bahrain in just his fourth start for the team and a brilliant 5th the following year at Silverstone proved his incredible speed over a single lap.
Impressive performances at Shanghai and Monza saw Ricciardo earn P7 at those events in 2013 for his best race result.
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
However, holding off Michael Schumacher in the closing laps for Suzuka in 2012 for the final point was quite possibly an even bigger achievement considering his lack of experience at that point.
Ricciardo returns to the team during a very difficult season for the Faenza-based squad. They sit P10 in the Constructors’ Championship on just two points and the AT04 is quite possibly the slowest package on the grid at present.
Photo credit: Scuderia AlphaTauri
In the video below where he receives a huge reception, Ricciardo tells the AlphaTauri employees in Italian: “Hi everyone. This is a lot, too much maybe! Thank you very much.”
