"We didn't want him to go" - Red Bull didn't want Daniel Ricciardo to leave in 2018

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that the team did not want Daniel Ricciardo to leave in 2018 but is delighted to have him back this year, albeit as a reserve driver. The Australian moved to Renault at the end of the 2018 season and then to McLaren in 2021.

On The Talking Bulls podcast, Horner expressed delight to have Ricciardo back in the Red Bull fold. He has that the team did not want him to leave in the first place and observed that Ricciardo's form dipped quite a bit after leaving Red Bull. Horner said:

"Well, it's great to have him back. We didn't want him to go in the first place, so anyway, he went off on his life experience, you know, through a couple of different teams.

"Certainly, (in) the last couple of years, we haven't seen the real Daniel. I mean, when Daniel drove for us, he was right up there with the very best and (had) one of the best races; some of his overtaking moves were legendary. And we didn't really see that over the last couple of years."

The Red Bull team principal also added that Ricciardo leaving the sport for good would have been a massive loss for F1 and that Red Bull provided a lifeline for him:

"Daniel would have been out of Formula One if we hadn't given him a lifeline, and it just felt that it was too soon for him to be calling a day on the sport. As for such a big personality, I mean, he's the kind of guy that lights up a room when he walks into it. So it was great to get him back in a different role this year."

Daniel Ricciardo is back at Red Bull as a reserve driver.

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Daniel Ricciardo will do Red Bull demo run on iconic German track

Daniel Ricciardo recently confirmed that he will be driving on the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife track in September.

The 'Green Hell' was once part of the F1 calendar but was removed, as it was deemed too dangerous for modern F1 cars to drive at high speeds. Ricciardo wrote on social media:

“What’s going on everyone, I just got my invite to the Red Bull Formula Nurburgring, which is pretty cool. I’m going to be driving a Red Bull car around the famous track, so I’m very excited about that.”

Apart from being a reserve driver for the team, the Honey Badger has also been helping them in several promotional content on social media. As he's one of the most famous personalities in the sport, Daniel Ricciardo has been a brilliant asset.