Ricciardo has “fallen in love” again with F1

Forward of his return to the grid, Daniel Ricciardo says he has fallen in love with the game once more.

Dropped by McLaren on the finish of final yr, and with solely Haas showing to need him, decreased to observe from the side-lines the favored Australian was compelled to take a check and reserve function together with his previous staff Purple Bull.

Nonetheless, with Nyck de Vries failing to stay as much as expectations – see what we did there – Ricciardo is again on the grid and claiming that he’s feeling higher than ever.

“I really feel like I have been myself once more,” he instructed reporters in Hungary. “I’ve had sufficient break day to, as an instance reset, but in addition simply sort of get pleasure from it once more.

“I already felt that on the simulator thus far this yr, however then additionally that is why I wished to drive the automotive and actually guarantee that it is nonetheless clearly actually what I like doing most. And yeah, I used to be in control actually fast and it felt so good once more. Testing the Purple Bull obtained me fairly excited.

“I simply obtained in it and I drove,” he mentioned of final week’s check at Silverstone, which was to seal the destiny of Nyck de Vries after simply 11 laps in accordance with Christian Horner. “I did not actually take into consideration something. I simply drove and had enjoyable. The occasions had been good and I used to be aggressive.

“There’s going to be so much to be taught,” he admits, “however I am not going to unravel the whole lot this weekend so it is actually nearly specializing in utilizing issues I do effectively. Every part I felt driving the automotive final week is how I wish to go racing once more. I simply wish to be within the second, having fun with it, not considering too far forward.”

In some ways Ricciardo’s return to AlphaTauri sees the Australian go full circle, nevertheless it stays to be seen if he’ll full the circle by progressing to the ‘large staff’ once more.

“I knew the whole lot that occurred the previous few years, and taking a while off, it will be very onerous to return in on the prime,” he mentioned. “After all that was my want however I feel additionally that you must be lifelike sooner or later and say: ‘OK, if I wish to get again to, say, a Purple Bull seat, then it’ll take a little bit of a course of and a path’. This for me is the very best path in the intervening time.”

Talking of the quick activity in hand, he mentioned: “I do know the automotive may have limitations and I am positive it isn’t going to really feel pretty much as good because the automotive I drove every week in the past. However I will simply work with that.

“I drove it on the sim final week, and it appeared OK. I feel it was a stable day on the sim. It is going to be a automotive I’ve to work at however I do not see the pessimistic perspective, it is simply a possibility for me.”

Talking of his outing of the stress cooker that’s an F1 seat, he mentioned: “I’ve loved this yr on the whole. It has been plenty of enjoyable being again within the Purple Bull household and it gave me a while away that was positively wanted.

“I anticipated the yr off. I have not had the entire yr however I had sufficient time that fuelled me and energised me.

“This, for me, is the very best path in the intervening time,” he added. “Six months in the past, I in all probability wasn’t in a spot to leap on a possibility like this however that is been the posh of time now the place I’ve simply felt a lot extra… I assume I’ve fallen in love with it once more. I really feel like I have been myself once more, in all probability again as effectively in an setting that simply provides me plenty of nostalgia; I spent plenty of my profession right here and plenty of my journey and I sort of my junior days had been right here.

“So speaking to Helmut once more extra commonly, it feels prefer it’s the place I belong. So when the chance got here, I believed ‘completely, let’s attempt’.”