Daniel Ricciardo poised to join Red Bull as reserve driver for 2023 amid Mercedes speculation
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Updated 18/11/2022 at 17:16 GMT
Daniel Ricciardo was facing at least a season without a team after McLaren cancelled his contract following two disappointing campaigns. However the Australian was linked with a role as a reserve driver with Mercedes recently, and now it appears he will instead carry out that role for his former team, constructors' champions Red Bull. That will leave him with a new team to find in 2024.
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Daniel Ricciardo is poised to re-sign for Red Bull and become their third driver for the 2023 season.
Ricciardo is expected to become a development driver, according to reports, with Liam Lawson the named reserve.
The Australian had his contract ended a season early by McLaren after two underwhelming seasons with the team, and he will be replaced by another Australian, Oscar Piastri, who joins from Alpine.
That left Ricciardo without a seat for next season and at 33 was considering a sabbatical from the sport rather than retirement.
He had suggested that he would prefer to be a reserve for one of the better Formula One teams and hope for a full-time driver in 2024, rather than sign up for a lower ranked team for next season. He was also linked with a similar role at Mercedes, but has returned to Red Bull, where he raced from 2014 to 2018.
"Ricciardo will be our third driver," Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko told Sky Sports in Germany.
"We have so many sponsors, we have to do show runs, so of course he's one of the most high-profile and best-suited."
Ricciardo had said on Thursday: "Mentally I'm not treating it like it's going to be my last ever race, but it could be.
"I know that nothing's guaranteed in the future so I'm going out to enjoy it, I'm not going to get too, let's say, emotional about the thought that 'oh, is it the last one or not?'.
"I do want to enjoy it and take it for what it is."
Ricciardo is one of the most experienced drivers on the paddock, with older racers such as Sebastian Vettel calling time on their careers.
The Australian has eight Grand Prix victories to his name and could be given the chance to add to that number next season if either of Red Bull’s first two drivers, world champion Max Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, are unavailable for any reason.
Perez’s long-term future at the team has been left in a little doubt after a row broke out over Verstappen failing to cede his position to him last weekend, but is expected to stay with the Austrian side in 2023.
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