F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Wastes No Time Ahead Of AlphaTauri Debut - "My First Day At Faenza"
Daniel Ricciardo has not wasted any time with his preparations for his first grand prix back after losing his McLaren seat at the end of 2022.
It was confirmed earlier this week that AlphaTauri abruptly fired Nyck de Vries after just ten races of his F1 rookie season in which he did not score any points. Ricciardo managed to put in some impressive lap times during a Pirelli tyre test day which seemed to seal the deal for the team.
Ricciardo's replacement of de Vries is immediate, so he will be back in the car for a racing weekend next week for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Time is clearly of the essence, so the Australian driver has gone straight to the AlphaTauri HQ to get his seat fit done in time for the debut.
The Italian team shared Ricciardo's return, as he raced for the squad between 2012 and 2013 when it ran under the Toro Rosso name, to social media.
Ricciardo has also spoken about the day explaining that it has been ten years since he has been with the team so he is having to learn Italian again. He commented:
“Ciao tutti, what’s going on?
“I was greeted with a very nice welcome back Honey Badger because it’s been 10 years since I was what was then Toro Rosso and now, of course is Scuderia AlphaTauri.
“I’m learning my Italian again, I’m getting my accent going and this my first day at Faenza so a very nice warm welcome and happy to be here.”
"Welcoming @danielricciardo back he got the new badge, followed the honey pot and…"