Ricciardo's First Lap Time In RB19 Only Few Hundreds Off Verstappen's Fastest Qualifying Lap

F1
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 at 17:00
ricciardo daniel aphatauri rbcp36
Alphatauri driver Daniel Ricciardo described the Formula One test that put him back into the seat of the Formula One car.
Daniel Ricciardo started the 2023 season without a seat in the F1 car as his previous team - McLaren, decided to end his contract earlier, and there was nowhere to go for the Australian.
However, the Honey Badger rejoined the Red Bull family that he left a few years earlier, and he got his first chance to show off during a Silverstone Pirelli tire test a few days after the 2023 British Grand Prix.
The 34-year-old got the chance to drive the fastest car on the grid in 2023, the legendary RB19. He described his experience on F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast:
"Did the test, on the first run, I actually spun twice. In turn four, I had a spin. So, like, very tight hairpin. Just a little bit eager on the throttle, you know."
Sitting in a Formula One car after not driving for a while is one of the most challenging things for drivers, and it takes a while to adjust, so Ricciardo's first few warm-up laps were not perfect.
"Then I had a spin in turn seven, so another slow speed. But even that, I spun, and I was okay with it. The way I brushed it off, I think it was just really good for me. It didn't phase me. So that I got back going, and then I started putting in some good times."
Ricciardo then went back to the pits to put on a new set of tires and an "FP2 fuel load," as he described it, to try and go for a few fast-timed laps. He said:
"I'm not gonna sugar coat it, the first timed lap I did was on the money. It was a few hundreds of Max's pole time. I just had that feeling in the car and the confidence."
The Honey Badger then revealed he knew that day could be a big day for him, but even he did not expect to put such a fast lap on the first try.
"Crossing the line, when I looked at the time, I was like: 'Oh, I don't know if I was expecting to go that quick'. I knew the day had potential to be a rally good day, but I would be lying if I said I was gonna do that time pretty much my first lap on new tires."
It did not take long for Red Bull to find Ricciardo a seat after that test, and the Australian driver found himself in a seat of AlphaTauri right for the following Grand Prix in Hungary.