Daniel Ricciardo in line for an AlphaTauri seat in 2024, says Helmut Marko

Daniel Ricciardo made a surprise return to the Formula 1 grid, taking a seat at AlphaTauri midseason.

Now he may be in line for a fulltime seat with AlphaTauri for 2024, according to Dr. Helmut Marko.

The Red Bull advisor said as much in a recent interview with German outlet Motorsport-Magazin. Offering his first assessment of Riccardo’s return, Marko opened up about how the veteran driver has changed the mood at AlphaTauri, and put himself in position for a fulltime seat with the team for 2024.

“The change has had a very positive effect, in terms of mood and motivation in the AlphaTauri team,” said Marko. “While the gap of De Vries was on average three to five tenths, Ricciardo, if you adjust for all that, is significantly less, if not on par with [Yuki] Tsunoda.”

“We have nine races left; in these nine races we will watch how it develops. Tsunoda had a very good race in Spa, maybe in the middle sector when it was raining a bit too much, maybe he could have had a better result,” added Marko. “Daniel was not far away from points in the sprint. This direction fits.”

As for 2024, while Ricciardo’s stated goal is the “fairytale” return to Red Bull, Marko believes that AlphaTauri is a more likely home, as far as next season is concerned.

“We know his goals, but how to achieve them, whether he is ready to do a full year at AlphaTauri next year with full commitment,” added Marko.

Of course, the team does have options for 2024 beyond Ricciardo. Yuki Tsunoda is under contract through the 2023 season, but has likely earned an extension given his performance to date. Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson is, according to Marko, another option as well for the team.

“Yuki Tsunoda has steadily improved in and of himself, has his emotions under control for the most part, is now also conditionally capable of driving through a GP,” said Marko. “We have alternatives, for example [Liam] Lawson, who is second in Japan and is very successful there and has made a big leap forward in his whole development since he’s been driving in Japan.”

Still, if Ricciardo indeed wants that fairytale ending, with Sergio Pérez under contract with Red Bull through at least 2024, proving himself one more year with AlphaTauri might be his best option.

Now we will see if, as Marko wonders, he is ready for the “full commitment.”