Daniel Ricciardo talks nostalgia, and his return to AlphaTauri, ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix

Thursday was Media Day for the drivers ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, and as you might expect given recent news, the start of the show was Daniel Ricciardo.

Fresh off the shocking announcement that the Red Bull reserve would be back at the Hungaroring, taking the seat previously held by Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, Ricciardo was among the first panel of drivers for Thursday’s dual media sessions.

“Thanks, it’s good to be back. It feels… I don’t know. It doesn’t feel that foreign, like it feels familiar,” said Ricciardo to open Thursday’s first session. “I guess it hasn’t been that long. It’s good. Very good. A lot of people are happy so that’s good as well.”

For Ricciardo, his quick return to the grid did not come as much of a surprise.

“Yeah, for sure. But I think getting back into the Red Bull family this year, it brings back a lot of old feelings and things that I was used to growing up and being part of that team or the Junior Team when I was younger,” said the newly-minted AlphaTauri driver. “I think one thing, it was always like be prepared, you never know what’s going to happen. Let’s say, I didn’t expect to maybe be in the car in Budapest, for example, but you never know. Surprised, but maybe not that surprised.”

Ricciardo also talked about making a return to a team he knows well. The driver raced for AlphaTauri earlier in his career, when the team was racing under the Toro Rosso branding. As the driver told David Croft of Sky Sports F1, nostalgia is among the reasons why such a return was the right move.

“So. I was there last week, the facility has changed a lot in the last 10 years since I was there. So it felt like a, let’s say, a new team or a fresh environment. But also, 10 years is a long time. That team has changed. I’ve changed, you know,” said Ricciardo. “There’s a nice kind of nostalgia going back. But I feel like we both evolved. And I’m starting this next phase, next chapter, with a very kind of fresh, I don’t know, page. Also for me, I needed to after, let’s say, stepping aside from the sport for a little bit, I think I kind of changed my perspective on things. So, I’m just coming into this without any… ‘Oh, what’s it going to be like? Oh, it’s going to be a struggle here. it’s going to be frustrating’. I’m just happy to have this opportunity.”

“I think just getting an opportunity again inside the Red Bull family is something I’m really appreciative of. So that’s really where my head’s at. Just try and enjoy it. I’m sure we’ll have some work to do,” added Ricciardo. “But I’m not going to solve every problem this weekend. So it’s really just about me getting back into the race weekend and the flow. And, you know, last week of course it was a very good car I drove but it filled me with some confidence. So try to take a little bit of that into this but also not to expect the world. Just day by day.”

As for those expectations, Ricciardo just wants to take a few steps at a time.

:Well, the car I drove a week ago was a pleasure, for sure, and that was something, for me, that was just so nice to get back into a car again. And it was the last box I kind of needed to tick to just make sure that this is what I truly want,” said Ricciardo. “I quickly got into that flow, so that was good. I obviously know that this weekend and now for the rest of the season it’s a different car and for sure, with some different challenges but I’m just going to get out there, not think too much about it, drive, and then go from there and just take some steps forward after that.”

F1 fans, as well as the entire grid, will get their first look at those steps as Ricciardo slides into the AT04 for Friday’s two practice sessions.