Daniel Ricciardo shares his F1 backup plan if Red Bull doesn’t return.

Daniel Ricciardo says he would be happy if his Formula 1 career did not end with a fairytale return to Red Bull.

The Australian returned to the Red Bull umbrella as a reserve driver before being called up to race for sister team AlfaTauri in July this year.
Since then, he has finished just two races after breaking his arm at the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
But he returns to the US Grand Prix this weekend and will be looking for momentum.
Ricciardo is guaranteed to stay with the team in 2024, but has made no secret of his desire to return to Red Bull’s first team.
He ran away five years ago for a fresh start but never found the success he was looking for.
Now the 34-year-old wants to take advantage of one last chance to become Max Verstappen’s teammate again.

But if that doesn’t happen, Ricardo says that’s okay.
“I have to stay here and I want to stay in the Red Bull family,” he told Mirror Sports with his trademark smile.
“It’s really good to be back here now.
“I like Helmut (Marco, the Red Bull consultant who oversees the driver program) and his tough approach.
I’m a nice, simple guy, but his approach really works for me.
I think it’s more than that.” .
I’ve always had a good relationship with Christian (Horner, Red Bull team principal). I think the chemistry in the team is really good and I like that.
“The big picture is to return to the same team and the same car at some point, but I also said that if it doesn’t happen, I would like to stay here.
The team is rebuilding for next year and if I can contribute and do that, the team will be more visible and more serious.
Acceptance is everything. If you’re not a big team, here we are.”

Sergio Perez is out of contract at the end of next season and has been in form this season, making a start at Red Bull in early 2025 a very real possibility. Ricciardo has the option to audition for the job, but most of his 35-year-old rivals will opt for the job and have a long-term option if available.
When asked how he plans to follow his dream of returning to Red Bull, he smiled and said: “Maybe it’s the opposite of what I’m saying! Let me not think about it.
Whatever happens there depends on the other drivers and teams.
“What they told me is that we have to make the most of this opportunity.
Yuki [AlphaTauri teammate Tsunoda] has done really well this year, which is a good achievement and a good achievement for me as well.
“We have to try to get good results from the team, get points and go from there,” he said.