Daniel Ricciardo is making a surprising return to Formula 1 and will drive for Red Bull’s sister team Alpha Tauri for the rest of the season.
The 34-year-old Australian, who was released by McLaren last year, will race at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 23 July.
He replaces Nyck de Vries, who has been dropped after only 10 races.
Ricciardo, who has won eight grands prix, rejoined Red Bull as a reserve driver at the beginning of this season.
Dutch rookie De Vries, 28, has lost his drive after failing to pick up a single point, as well as having several crashes and struggling for form in comparison with younger team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
Ricciardo took part in a tyre test for Red Bull at Silverstone on Tuesday, two days after De Vries finished last in the British Grand Prix.
“I’m stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family,” said Ricciardo.
Alpha Tauri team principal Franz Tost said: “I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team.
“There’s no doubt about his driving skill, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straightforward.
“The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 grand prix winner.
“I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia Alpha Tauri, and I wish him all the best for the future.”
Ricciardo’s career in motorsport’s most illustrious category was looked over when McLaren terminated his contract a year early due to what they considered unsatisfactory performances, choosing to replace him with compatriot Oscar Piastri.
But he rejoined Red Bull, for whom he won seven grands prix between 2014 and 2018, as their third driver at the end of the season and is now back in a full-time race seat after less than half a season out of the action.
‘Red Bull where Ricciardo felt most at home’
Andrew Benson, chief F1 writer
Red Bull have reacted to their disappointment with De Vries’ performances at Alpha Tauri with typically brutal decisiveness.
The 28-year-old Dutchman, a former Formula E and Formula 2 champion, was recruited to bring experience and a steady hand to Red Bull’s junior team.
But a failure to get on terms with team-mate Tsunoda – De Vries was out-qualified 10 times to two so far this season – and too many accidents have brought his Formula 1 career to an end before even his first half season was complete.
De Vries’ underperformance has turned out to be Ricciardo’s ticket back to an F1 seat – a strategy that was not fully formed when he was dropped by McLaren last year but which was clearly the endgame for the Australian when he returned to familiar ground as Red Bull reserve driver for this season.
Red Bull are the team where Ricciardo felt most at home. His move away, first to Renault and then McLaren, was informed by his belief that Red Bull had become fully Max Verstappen’s team after three seasons alongside the highly-rated youngsster which became increasingly uncomfortable for Ricciardo.
A move to Alpha Tauri – which brings Ricciardo’s career almost full circle, as it is the team where he made his name from 2012-13 before being promoted to Red Bull – is an opportunity for him to prove that he still has what it takes after a bruising couple of seasons alongside Lando Norris at McLaren.
And it also increases the pressure on Red Bull’s second driver Sergio Perez, whose 2023 season is not going well.
When the Mexican won two of the first four races, he was talking up his hopes of challenging Verstappen for the title in a team which is out of reach of their rivals.
But since winning in Azerbaijan in April, Perez’s year has imploded. Verstappen has won every race since, and Perez has failed to qualify in the top 10 for the last five consecutive grands prix, a shocking statistic for a man driving what is emerging as one of the greatest cars F1 has ever seen.
Red Bull say Perez has their full support, but they are kidding nobody. If Ricciardo does what would be expected of him at his best and comfortably outperforms Tsunoda, and Perez cannot relocate his mojo, don’t rule out another switch at some point.
A final point worth making is that there remain questions over Red Bull’s junior drive programme. Having looked outside it to fill the seat alongside Tsunoda last year, they have now done the same again.
There are candidates coming through the junior ranks, including New Zealand 21-year-old Liam Lawson who is impressing in the Japanese Super Formula series, but the company clearly considers none of them ready for F1 yet.
This is a long way from the days when the Red Bull conveyor belt produced Sebastian Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz and others.
