"I hope he finds his mojo" - Daniel Ricciardo no longer the 'same driver' as he was in Red Bull, claims Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claims that Daniel Ricciardo is no longer the 'same driver' as he was with the Austrian team. The Australian driver spent five seasons at Red Bull, achieving his best-ever results in the sport before moving to Renault in 2019.

Daniel Ricciardo won seven races, showed up on the podium 13 times, and even ended the 2016 season with a career-best finish of P3 in the Driver Standings. However, the Honey Badger then chose to leave the Milton-Keynes-based team for Renault in 2019 and then McLaren in 2021, and has since failed to find any kind of real form. The driver recently announced that he would be leaving McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, putting further question marks on his next career move.

Christian Horner said the following about the former Red Bull driver while speaking to Sky Sports F1:

“I’ve spoken to Daniel a little bit but I don’t recognise him as the same driver he was when he was with us. He’s one of the best guys out there. He’s definitely got that capability and I hope he finds a seat in Formula 1. I hope he finds his mojo because if you think back to some of the races he drove for us, winning the Monaco Grand Prix with 50% of the power…he put in some amazing performances.’’

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Sebastian Vettel commented on Daniel Ricciardo's upcoming McLaren departure

Sebastian Vettel empathized with the fact that his retirement had an effect on Daniel Ricciardo being pushed out of McLaren. The German driver felt sorry for the Australian and felt that the Woking-based squad had failed to extract the best out of his former teammate.

Speaking at Thursday's drivers' press conference ahead of the 2022 Belgian GP, the four-time world champion said:

“I have too much empathy for a Formula 1 driver, but very saddened by hearing what’s going to happen to Daniel [Ricciardo]. I think it’s a very, very difficult situation to be in. I think he’s still one of the best drivers. I raced against him. I had the pleasure to race against him and the not so pleasurable side of getting beaten by him years ago, and I still think he has very, very much to offer.’’

The two drivers paired up in 2014, with Sebastian Vettel as the defending champion that year. Ricciardo managed to pip the four-time world champion in his first season with the team, making him an instant fan favorite. However, he has failed to deliver spectacular results since his miraculous win in Monza last year, leading to widespread criticism of the Australian driver.

It will be interesting to see where Daniel Ricciardo finds himself in the 2023 season.