Breaking News: Daniel Ricciardo To Replace Nick De Vries From Hungarian GP

Formula 1 racing driver Daniel Ricciardo is all set to replace ‘rookie’ colleague Nick De Vries at the AlphaTauri team. In fact, Ricciardo replace De Vries for the rest of the 2023 season, starting from the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.

This is exciting news for a majority of Formula 1 fans across the globe who have been rooting for the return of Daniel Ricciardo. Furthermore, the news was confirmed on the same day Ricciardo was driving Red Bull’s current RB19 car at the Pirelli tyre test in Silverstone.

Commenting on Ricciardo’s Pirelli tyre test, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said, “It is great to see Daniel hasn’t lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his sim sessions translate on track.”

After losing his seat at McLaren, Ricciardo took a sabbatical from Formula 1 racing, but the 34-year Australian returned to the Red Bull family as a third driver. It is also worth mentioning that Ricciardo cemented his reputation as a top-tier driver while he raced for Red Bull between 2014 and 2018.

“His times during the tyre test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri.” Horner added.

Furthermore, seven of Ricciardo’s eight Formula 1 wins came while he was driving for Red Bull. Before that, he raced for Toro Rosso (now, AlphaTauri) between 2012 and 2013. “I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team”, said AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost.

That being said, Nick De Vries, a Formula 2 and Formula E champion, made his way into Formula 1 after making an impressive debut in an uncompetitive Williams at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, where he replaced an unwell Alexander Albon.

At the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, De Vries not only out-qualified another Williams driver Nicholas Latifi by qualifying at 13th position (Vs 16th position), but he also managed to finish in 9th in the race and bagged 2 points for Williams.

After this impressive performance, AlphaTauri roped in De Vries for the 2023 Formula 1 season. Unfortunately, De Vries’ performance has so far failed to impress top bosses at Red Bull. Furthermore, given Red Bull’s reputation for its drivers, De Vries’ exit was widely discussed in many Formula 1 forums.

Thoughts About Daniel Ricciardo Replacing Nick De Vries At AlphaTauri

Daniel Ricciardo cemented his reputation as one of the finest Formula 1 drivers during his stint with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018. Moreover, his poor performance at McLaren was widely reported to be his inability to adapt to the driving requirements of the McLaren racing car.

So, when McLaren decided to prematurely end its contract with Ricciardo, many Formula 1 fans wanted to see the 8-time Formula 1 grand prix winner back on track with another top racing team. As such, this De Vries-Ricciardo swap simply made it possible without many downsides.

Thoughts About Daniel Ricciardo Replacing Nick De Vries At AlphaTauri

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