"I literally think they had to change their pants three times": When Alex Albon gave a hilarious take on Daniel Ricciardo's return to F1

Williams F1 driver Alex Albon took a hilarious dig at Netflix about the potential depiction of former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo's return to Formula 1 at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Aussie driver returned to the sport after taking a six-month sabbatical at the start of the 2023 season after his contract with McLaren ended a year prior.

The eight-time F1 race winner had taken the role of Red Bull reserve driver and replaced a struggling Nyck de Vries in Budapest at AlphaTauri. Ricciardo was one of the most popular drivers on the grid and was a darling of F1's Netflix series 'Drive to Survive'.

In one of the episodes of season six of the show, Albon hilariously took a dig at the series's depictions of events and gave his take on how they will project Ricciardo's return to the sport. He said:

"I literally think they had to change their pants three times. I know the episode already. Let me run it through. Here we have Danny Ricciardo watching on the sidelines, yeah it hurts to not be racing. Then all of a sudden pans to Nyck de Vries.

Lock up off the track crash, fast forward to Silverstone test Daniel Ricciardo. Super quick. Danny looking like a big smile on his face. 'It is what it is, you know. I never left I'm back baby, honey budger don't give a s**t.'"

Daniel Ricciardo's stint with AlphaTauri did not last long. Two races into his comeback, he injured his hand. He returned for the last couple of races in 2023. Subsequently, before the end of the 2024 season, he was dropped and replaced by Liam Lawson for the final six races last year.

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Alex Albon pays tribute to Daniel Ricciardo after his exit

Williams F1 driver Alex Albon stated that he admired Daniel Ricciardo for his personality and called him a "true character" following the latter leaving the sport at the end of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Speaking with F1.com, the Thai driver reflected:

"I really, really like Daniel. I feel like he's a true character in our sport. I feel like he's very true to himself as well, and it's a big loss to see Daniel go. I saw the general response from the community of Formula 1, and we will miss him, not to say that he won't come back in some way. I can’t comment about the decision of him being replaced, but yeah, I’ll miss him for sure."

Albon also hinted that Ricciardo's exit could be a result of positive performances by rookies like Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto influencing the team's decision to take chances with younger drivers for the coming years.