Christian Horner sang the praises of Daniel Ricciardo after his return to the Formula 1 grid.
The Aussie rejoined his old Red Bull team as a reserve driver after failing to fond consistency or form across two seasons with McLaren. He was hoping to return to an F1 race seat after some time away and found an opportunity sooner than expected.
He was parachuted in at struggling sister team AlphaTauri to replace the axed Nyck de Vries. He has taken part in two races so far and will compete in the final 10 of this season before a decision is made over his longer-term future.
Ricciardo did not score a point in either of his two outings so far. But he made a point by outqualifying team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in Hungary and finishing ahead of him in the race as well, though the Japanese driver outshone him by scoring a point in Belgium last time out.
Regardless, Horner is happy with what he has seen from the 34-year-old so far. He green-lighted Ricciardo's return to the grid after being satisfied that he had rediscovered his "mojo" on the simulator and having that suspicion confirmed in a real life test at Silverstone.
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"I think he met it. Seeing what he did at Silverstone in the tyre test, I think after that expectations changed and he met all expectations," said the Red Bull Racing team principal when asked for his appraisal of how Ricciardo's second coming has gone so far.
"What he's brought to AlphaTauri is a huge amount of experience and possibly some direction, obviously with the experience that he brings as a grand prix winner. He actually acquitted himself very, very well."
Horner's words may add even more pressure onto Sergio Perez, who has been feeling the heat this season over how far off Max Verstappen he is. Ricciardo has made no secret of his desire to return to Red Bull in the future, and it would be the Mexican's seat that he would be taking if he gets the opportunity to do so.
AlphaTauri chief Franz Tost also shared his satisfaction over how Ricciardo has done. "We still miss some load on the car, but I’m convinced that when Daniel is more familiar with the car and tyres, he'll do a really good job," he said.
And the racer himself was positive when asked for his own verdict, even if a points finish has eluded him so far. The summer break, he feels, will give him the time he needs to reflect on what he has learned about his new machine so far so he can make the most of it in the second half of this season.
Ricciardo said: "I'm actually really glad I got these two before the break because it gives me something to certainly think about, build on, throw some questions back to the team. Nine days ago, I hadn't driven this car, so when I put everything into perspective, I think we're okay."
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