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The man who made a surprise reentrance to the paddock half way through the season is more than known for a charming demeanor in interviews and a solid attitude on the track giving him the nickname of Honey Badger. Daniel Ricciardo has had a career marked with a lot of ups and downs. His most famous up came with his time at Red Bull, Ricciardo slotted himself into a seat pre-Verstappen and started impressing some higher ups with his on the track moves and off the track popularity. At this point the team wasn’t the Red Bull we know today so lower pressure and a pretty comfortable gap to his teammate left the driver in a solid spot, until Verstappen. After just two years Ricciardo left the team despite his new contract reportedly meeting all of his demands, this departure would have an impact felt throughout the paddock even today and initiate his rumored return.
Before he made it to the Red Bull big leagues Ricciardo was a humble HRT driver. The spanish team was far from exemplary but the rookies performance was enough to gain the interest for Red Bull’s junior team which at the time was Toro Rosso Ricc iardo joined the junior team in 2011 and was finally formally in the Red Bull pipeline. In his first season at Toro Rosso he managed to score his first points pretty early on but struggled in a competitive midfield. Despite the struggle he out performed his veteran team mate and put himself on the map early as someone who can make do with what he’s given.
His second season was pretty uneventful but with a more competitive car he was more able to compete. Once again he outperformed his teammate especially in qualifying where he got some solid pace from the fairly junky car. By this point Ricciardo was fully on Red Bull's radar as his driving skills were more than just pace; he was uniquely suited to put the car in positions that made racing a lot harder for those trying to compete. From insanely late breaking to tight defensive moves that had some high risk but crazy reward Ricciardo quickly made his presence on the track known. The only thing in his way to a first team seat was champion and veteran Mark Webber, his biggest obstacle would disappear when Webber announces his retirement. With his biggest competition out of the way Red Bull’s choice was clear Ricciardo would finally be getting a real big leagues seat.
The 2014 season was the first season we saw Ricciardo at a big team playing on a big level. At this time Red Bull wasn’t quite competitive enough to be dominant but their car was still at the front of the pack in his first year with the team he took home three wins, incredible especially when compared to his team mate the legendary Sebastian Vettel who didn’t take home a single win. His ability to maneuver slower worse cars translated pretty nicely to the 2014 Red Bull car giving him a season of not just pace but also quick moves offensively and defensively. This initial success set him up well for his later career and is by far his peak in terms of performance.
The next three years were full of underwhelming performances and nothing near the success of his first year. His style with quick cut offs and risky moves became more and more of a hindrance, the pace wasn’t as present in the car, the field was becoming more competitive, and to put the final cherry on top he was being outperformed by a teenager. That teenager was none other than Max Verstappen, the introduction of Verstappen is where the story really begins.
In 2016 there were two legendary events, the fall of Brocedes and Max Verstappen being moved up to Red Bulls first team. Verstappen's move came with the rise of a new wonder kid. Ricciardo had his brief moment of stardom and the potential for a return to that was almost enough but nothing will ever compare to an 18 year old race winner. Throughout Formula One’s history there’s always been two drivers and with two drivers admit it or not there's always a one and a two. Being second to the younger less experienced driver had to have stung and after a crash between the two drivers Ricciardo’s trust in the team reportedly fell. This internal tension reached a head right before it was time for him to resign his contract.
As with many things contracts will never be a full story no one but the essentials were ever privy to these discussions but thankfully in such a big move people love to talk. Early on in the negotiations Ricciardo felt he was quickly being pushed to the side in favor of the younger driver and that Red Bull didn’t really want to make him a long term project because of this he left for Renault which in hindsight marked the beginning of the end for his career. But his move didn’t just kill him it sent Red Bull spiraling.
Caught completely off guard Red Bull were forced to promote junior driver Alex Albon without much preparation or planning. After a series of unfortunate events they moved up another junior driver hoping to recreate what they had lost in Pierre Gasly. Naturally neither newbie was able to match the pace of Verstappen or even veteran Ricciardo. Red Bull now realizing that it wasn’t going to work out with their own academy reached elsewhere and found Sergio Perez, Perez impressed at Alpine a team worse than Red Bull but after a few years of not quite matching up to Verstappen his seat is rumored to be under threat. Under threat by the very same man, Red Bull could never replace; Daniel Ricciardo.
Leaving the team suddenly may have sent them spiraling but the effect had on expectations is what’s so interesting. Red Bull selected drivers who, similar to Ricciardo, had displayed an ability to work those not so great cars into solid positions. This move isn’t just an interesting reflection of Red Bull’s undeniable nostalgia but also tactically unfocused, rather than picking up one of the available people at a mid table team they found going for glory in the guy who can wheel a junk wagon to be the best decision. This almost never worked out and even looking at Ricciardo it didn’t work, the expectation for drivers like Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly all but sunk their careers. So when all else fails and the itch of nostalgia comes crawling in, what can you do but go back and see what could’ve been.
Ricciardo was good at Red Bull, not great, he was never exceptional but that doesn’t matter because the potential in that first season was more than enough to give Red Bull a taste of something they want even if they would never have gotten it. The big butterfly that is Daniel Ricciardo flapped his wings and in doing so created a hurricane within Red Bull that’s looking to sweep him right back where he started.
