What makes AlphaTauri the worst car for Ricciardo's F1 comeback
- Posted by hudson on Jul 18, 2023
Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 comeback with AlphaTauri is one of the big stories of the 2023 season. But whether the story has a happy ending for the Australian and his many fans depends on what is probably the worst car on the grid for him to jump into.
That’s not because its uncompetitive – although that doesn’t help – but because of tricky handling characteristics that could expose some of the same weaknesses that made his two years at McLaren – that glorious victory at Monza in 2021 aside - a failure.
That McLaren was willing to pay Ricciardo, who had a contract for 2023, millions not to race so it could replace him with Oscar Piastri means his F1 stock is at an all-time low.
But the opportunity to return to F1 mid-season in place of the ousted Nyck De Vries means Ricciardo now has the chance to re-establish himself as an F1 star.
The question, will the AlphaTauri AT04 allow him to?
00:00 Ricciardo's low stock
00:50 AlphaTauri's limitations
04:59 Open-minded
07:01 Eyes on Red Bull?