Daniel Ricciardo 'curious' to see how he compares to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in Red Bull simulators

As he gets ready to step back into Red Bull's simulator after four years, Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that he is 'curious' to know where he stands now, in contrast to the team's current crew.

Although he understands that the car has gone through some major changes in the past four seasons, he still has the confidence to drive it as he knew the car well previously and has gained a lot of success through it.

On Formula 1's official Beyond the Grid podcast, Ricciardo said:

“Going back to Red Bull, I think there is, of course, an element of me which is curious in terms of just jumping on the sim and seeing how I do, even just for myself."

“[It is] a car that, of course, it’s changed in the last four years, but a car that obviously I knew well [and] had a lot of success with."

Daniel Ricciardo made his way back into the Milton Keynes-based team after having his contract at McLaren terminated. This happened because of the poor performances he had been delivering in the car, especially in the 2022 season, which caused the British team to lose to Alpine in the standings.

It was thought that he might not be on the grid in 2023 at all until Red Bull announced that the Australian would step back into the team; as a reserve driver this time.

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Daniel Ricciardo hoping to equate simulator pace on the track

Daniel Ricciardo was previously a part of Red Bull but decided to leave the team after the 2018 season due to some internal issues despite the success he was gaining. But now that he returns to the team, his role will be quite different.

He will have ample time with the racing simulator to practice his skills, which could turn out to be promising. However, driving on the simulator and driving on the track are two quite different tasks.

While the 33-year-old realizes that driving on the sim and in real life can be quite different, he is hoping to perform equally well on the track as he would on the simulator. Daniel Ricciardo said:

“I’ll be able to get an idea. I think I’ll know. Obviously, if I’m there on lap times on the sim, I think that would give me the confidence that then I could obviously replicate it on track."