Why was Daniel Ricciardo getting his seat fitting for AlphaTauri? F1 pundit explains

F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm claims Daniel Ricciardo was getting his seat fitting for AlphaTauri ahead of the 2023 Miami GP because he is the reserve driver for both Red Bull and its junior team.

The Australian currently serves as a test driver for both teams and was seen getting his seat fitting for AlphaTauri in case the team needed him to fill in for Yuki Tsunoda or Nyck de Vries. Given that Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson was not on-site in Miami, the Australian would be next in line to jump into the AT04.

Many have linked Ricciardo's seat fitting with the junior team to him potentially replacing Nyck de Vries next year. The Dutchman has so far been unable to impress and has been routinely outperformed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Speaking about Daniel Ricciardo's seat-fitting saga on The Race podcast, F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm said:

"My understanding is that Ricciardo had this seat fit before Miami because Miami was the second race this year he was attending on-site after Australia. And when he does these races on-site and Liam Lawson's not around, Ricciardo is the reserve on hand."

"He's the reserve for both teams because that's just how Red Bull operates when you don't have a plethora of reserves handy within an hour's flight in Europe."

Reports suggesting Daniel Ricciardo replacing Nyck de Vries are not true

Contrary to earlier speculation, recent sources have debunked the notion that Daniel Ricciardo might join AlphaTauri as a replacement for Nyck de Vries, who has had a challenging debut with the team.

Rumors linking Daniel Ricciardo to AlphaTauri emerged following de Vries' 18th-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix. It was previously suggested that Ricciardo, the Red Bull reserve driver, had visited AlphaTauri's headquarters in Faenza, Italy, for a seat fitting.

However, according to ESPN, it is highly unlikely that Daniel Ricciardo would move to AlphaTauri to take over from the 28-year-old de Vries. The reports indicate that no discussions have occurred with Ricciardo regarding such a scenario despite de Vries' underwhelming performance this season.

Conversely, Ricciardo never visited Faenza after Miami's race and went to Europe directly to attend a wedding, further invalidating speculation.

AlphaTauri is likely to go with drivers such as Liam Lawson and Ayumu Iwasa should they decide to drop de Vries next year. The Dutchman needs to put in consistent performances if he wants to remain in the sport.