Christian Horner encourages Alpine to sign Daniel Ricciardo in 2023
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is urging the Alpine team to sign Australian Daniel Ricciardo for the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Daniel Ricciardo will have to leave the McLaren team at the end of the 2022 season after it made the decision to end its collaboration with the Australian to replace him with his compatriot Oscar Piastri from next season. Officially, Ricciardo has no seat for 2023, while the Alpine team – for which he previously raced when the latter was still called Renault – is still looking for a starting driver to place alongside Esteban Ocon next year. due to the departure of Fernando Alonso at the end of the year to Aston Martin.
For Christian Horner, who has been Daniel Ricciardo’s boss at Red Bull in the past, Alpine shouldn’t even hesitate to re-sign the Aussie: “I hope Daniel [Ricciardo] will be confirmed in Formula 1 next year. It’s a shame where he is now, he’s a great driver, and if I was at Alpine I would probably sign him for 2023.” said the Brit on the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“He’s someone they already know and in their last season together they had very good results. I think he’s the kind of person who can rebuild himself after hard times. »
According to Horner, Daniel Ricciardo’s move to McLaren between 2021 and 2022 didn’t work out for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t mean his Formula 1 career is over: “I remember the races he did when he was with us, overtaking, and some wins. It’s still in him, and I think all he needs is a reset. As in all sports, confidence is key and Daniel doesn’t have that at McLaren…although he’s been in two cars from two different regulations, he’s still a very capable driver. Hopefully he will be on the grid in 2023.”
For the moment, Daniel Ricciardo has not yet announced his plans for the 2023 season. The Australian has not ruled out the idea of a sabbatical year or of becoming a reserve driver for a big team. …
