Daniel Ricciardo cautioned by former F1 champion on his return to AlphaTauri: "It’s not easy to just jump back in"

Damon Hill, the 1996 F1 world champion, has issued a cautionary warning to Daniel Ricciardo ahead of his return to the sport as a full-time driver. The Briton warned Ricciardo that it won't be easy for him to return to the sport and be instantly as comfortable as he used to be.

The Australian tested for Red Bull at Silverstone, with his impressive laptimes earning him a seat at AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season. The Honey Badger has been out of an active driving role since the end of last year when he parted ways with McLaren after two unsuccessful years.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Damon Hill believes it won't be easy for Daniel Ricciardo to just jump into the AlphaTauri and be up to grade. He said:

"[Daniel] is going to have a massive mountain to climb to get back up to speed, it takes time. When [Fernando] Alonso was out for a bit, it’s not easy to just jump back in, it takes a bit of time to get all the neurons and the nerve endings firing again.”

Ricciardo is reportedly trying to secure a seat with Red Bull in 2025 and has been using AlphaTauri as his proving ground. However, the eight-time GP winner will have to finish ahead of Yuki Tsunoda if he wants to impress the Red Bull bosses.

Red Bull boss not worried about Daniel Ricciardo's fitness ahead of his return to the sport

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, meanwhile, has claimed that Daniel Ricciardo is physically fit enough to race in Hungary this weekend. The Briton believes the Australian has kept his fitness routine to the F1 standard and will be able to join AlphaTauri this weekend with no major issues.

Elaborating on Daniel Ricciardo's fitness, he told the F1 Nation podcast:

"He's in pretty decent shape. I mean we put him pretty much on a hundred laps around Silverstone so it was a baptism by fire. He wasn't asking for the pad on the headrest. He's kept himself in pretty good shape. He's naturally pretty athletic. He's kept his training to standard."

The Hungaroring is often called 'Monaco without walls' due to its high-downforce twisty nature, making it a real physical challenge for drivers. The nature of the challenge ahead of him has made many question if Ricciardo is fit enough to make his way back.

However, with Horner now reassuring fans that the Aussie is in perfect shape to tackle the difficult Hungaroring circuit, one can look forward to fireworks from Ricciardo on his return to competition as a full-time driver.