"This guy still has it”: Daniel Ricciardo hoping to impress team bosses in his next outing driving a Red Bull car

Daniel Ricciardo cannot wait to sit behind the wheel of the RB19. It has recently been reported that the Australian will get his chance to drive Red Bull's 2023 F1 challenger around the Silverstone circuit. This run will be conducted a few days after the 2023 F1 British GP where the Honey Badger will test some Pirelli tires.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Daniel Ricciardo stated how he want to clock in fast laps during the test to show other teams and Red Bull that he is not just a reserve driver. He wants to prove himself once again so that he can return to the sport. He said:

"I know that if I put in a good showing in, it won't go unnoticed. It might not be lap time [on which he is judged] at the end of the day. It might be like, ‘Oh f***, by the end of lap two he was already flat out’. By the end of the test, I just want them to be like, ‘This guy still has it. He's not just cruising around. He's not a test driver’."

In another interview with ESPN, Daniel Ricciardo spoke about the Pirelli test in Silverstone and how he could get another test run in September in Monza. The Australian expressed how excited he was to drive Red Bull's RB19, which is by far the quickest car on the 2023 grid. He said:

“I’ve been in the simulator, but I will drive the RB19 in July after the Silverstone race – I’m getting a Pirelli test. Then maybe I’ll get another one after Monza as well in September. A couple of months away [and] I’ll get to feel what it’s like.”

“I’m certainly excited to drive a fast car, but also a car that maybe still feels familiar for me – it does a little bit in the sim. But I’m just excited to drive again and to just try to remind a team obviously I once had a lot of success with that I can still turn a fast lap.”

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Daniel Ricciardo clear about not starting his F1 career from scratch once again

Daniel Ricciardo is dead set on getting a seat in a good F1 team rather than driving for a lower-midfield team and starting his career from scratch. The Australian explained how he was not scared of leaving the F1 grid since he was already aware of the risks. However, he does not want to go to a lower-midfield team. In an interview with the BBC's Top Gear, he said:

"It doesn’t scare me. It’s always been like that. And I knew this was going to be a risk obviously removing myself from a seat. But I think it’s clear what I don’t want. I don’t want [just] any seat next year… I don’t want to just start from zero, and kind of build my [F1] career from scratch."

Since Daniel Ricciardo is working at Red Bull as a reserve driver, he might get a chance to drive in AlphaTauri. As long as Sergio Perez is performing well, there is no chance for the Honey Badger to get a seat on the reigning world champion team.