Partying ways in 2019, Daniel Ricciardo finally made a comeback to the team he calls home, Red Bull Racing. However, this wasn’t a fairytale return as the man from Land Down Under was given the responsibility of a test and reserve driver behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. But, his old teammate Verstappen has high hopes for him despite Perez having a full-time seat on the team for the next two years.

Talking about this, the defending champion shared in an interview during Red Bull’s 2023 challenger launch, “You know how Daniel always brings smile to everyone and also you know relying on his experiences back at the factory, on the simulator, I think he’s only bonus to the team.”

“I think also for him to be back in a well-known environment for him, there’s still a lot of people he knows back in the day can be good frame and I hope to see Daniel back in the grid soon,” further stated the 25-year-old.

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As it stands, Daniel Ricciardo will have to settle for the reserve driver’s role, until Perez fails to keep up with his performance. In that case, it’ll be interesting to see if Red Bull decides to replace him with Ricciardo or find themselves a new driver.

Max Verstappen doesn’t want Daniel Ricciardo for the simulation

Simulation is a big part of a team’s routine in every season and is mostly done by test drivers. This year Daniel Ricciardo is the test driver of Red Bull Racing. As a result, the Australian will be bestowed with the testing and simulation duty. However, the simulation by Ricciardo isn’t something Verstappen is interested in.

The Dutchman in a recently published report said that he won’t rely on Ricciardo’s simulation at the team, as he prefers his own work. Verstappen said as per Speedweek.com, “The days are very long, but I am convinced that this [simulation] work is worth it.”

“I also don’t want a test driver to take care of the simulation like other racing teams do. I want to do it myself, because everyone has their own driving style,” concluded the two-time world champion. Verstappen has always been brutal and direct when voicing his opinion, as happened in an interview lately when he went against his team boss Christian Horner.

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Simulation is very important for every team in modern-day F1. This helps the drivers learn the track as it enables them to know the curb, turn, and DRS sections. Moreover, the simulation helps the team generate and accumulate important data that can be used for the race during weekends.