Daniel Ricciardo has rejoined Red Bull as third driver for the 2023 season.<\/span><\/p>\n He will assist Red Bull with testing and simulation work as well as commercial activities, the team said.<\/span><\/p>\n Ricciardo said he was “truly excited” to be returning to the team for whom he won seven grands prix between 2014 and 2018, before leaving for Renault.<\/span><\/p>\n Team principal Christian Horner said: “It is great to bring Daniel back into the Red Bull family. He has enormous talent and such a brilliant character.<\/span><\/p>\n “I know the whole family is excited to be welcoming him home.<\/span><\/p>\n “In his role as third driver, Daniel will give us a chance to diversify, assisting in the development of the air, aiding the team with his experience and knowledge of what it takes to succeed in F1.”<\/span><\/p>\n A smiling Ricciardo said the welcome he had been given by Horner, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko and the whole team was “something I’m sincerely appreciative of”.<\/span><\/p>\n “The ability to contribute and be surrounded by the best team in F1 is hugely appealing, while also giving me some time to recharge and refocus,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n Ricciardo spent five seasons with Red Bull and <\/span>left at the end of 2018<\/span><\/a> because he felt the team were becoming increasingly focused on Max Verstappen, to his detriment.<\/span><\/p>\n He moved to Renault for 2019, on a lucrative contract worth more than $50m over two years, but decided before the delayed start of the 2020 season that he would <\/span>leave for McLaren<\/span><\/a> in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n Ricciardo scored Renault’s first podium for nine years at the Eifel Grand Prix towards the end of the 2020 season, and took a second at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix two races later.<\/span><\/p>\n After joining McLaren, <\/span>Ricciardo won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix<\/span><\/a> – taking the team’s first win for nine years and leading team-mate Lando Norris to a one-two – but for most of the year he struggled to match the Briton.<\/span><\/p>\n When those problems continued in 2022, McLaren decided they had to replace him, and negotiated an end to his contract – which had been due to run to the end of 2023 – in the summer. They signed Australian Oscar Piastri as Ricciardo’s replacement.<\/span><\/p>\n Ricciardo has admitted he does not fully understand why he has struggled for performance at McLaren, and the team feel the same. He decided to take a year out in 2023 rather than sign for a team further down the grid but has said he is determined to return to F1 in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n Ricciardo was a Red Bull junior driver and the company paid for his debut with the HRT team in the second half of 2011, before placing him in their second team Toro Rosso for 2012-13.<\/span><\/p>\n He then graduated to Red Bull for 2014, following Mark Webber’s retirement, and beat four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in his first season with the team, winning three races to the German’s none.<\/span><\/p>\n The relationship between Red Bull’s two-time world champion Verstappen and his team-mate Sergio Perez became strained at the penultimate race of the season in Brazil.<\/span><\/p>\nHow has Ricciardo ended up back at Red Bull?<\/h3>\n
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<\/span><\/span>Could Ricciardo race again for Red Bull?<\/h3>\n
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