Daniel Ricciardo was the man with the entire world at his feet. And then McLaren happened. When the 33-year-old joined the papaya outfit, they were a team on the rise. Naturally, the blame for this failed alliance then fell squarely on the Honey Badger’s shoulders. However, 2023 has proven to be a disaster for the Woking-based team. They have admittedly missed their developmental goals and now stand on the cusp of having to endure a squalid season.

In light of McLaren’s misery and how acrimonious the split between the duo was back in 2022, many people are now suggesting that Ricciardo actually dodged a bullet here. Ever since McLaren took to the track for some proper competitive running last week at the Bahrain Grand Prix, fans have made the team a laughingstock. On the other side of town, Ricciardo is seemingly living his best life as Red Bull‘s reserve driver.

The Milton-Keynes-based outfit shared a video on their Instagram account of the Australian goofing around. They captioned it, “getting set for a flying lap with @DanielRicciardo.” And as soon as the video went viral, fans swarmed the social networking platform to share their reactions and take jabs at his ex-employers, McLaren.

Fans react as Daniel Ricciardo enjoys life at Red Bull at McLaren’s cost

Ricciardo is a fan favorite. Naturally, seeing the team that seemingly ruined his career in F1, or at least has tarnished it to an extent, not doing so well has really stuck with the fans. Fans took to Instagram to share their reactions to Ricciardo’s PR move by taking swipes at McLaren. One fan even commented, “Still faster than the McLaren”

Let’s take a look at just a few of the fan reactions to Red Bull’s Instagram post.

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A fan commented, “Dude got payed 20 million to do this.” While another took a thinly veiled jab at McLaren, “Daniel Ricciardo after he gets paid millions of dollars not to drive the worst car on the grid:” 

Fans were also very keen to rub McLaren’s squalid 2023 Bahrain GP in the team’s face.

“faster than mcl60”

“and he’s still going faster than mclaren this year”

“this performance much better than mclaren performance in bahrain GP”

For the fans, seeing McLaren’s downfall this season coupled with the fact that Ricciardo seems to be back in a happy place was the perfect combination. One fan even said, “What did he use when he ran away from McLaren?”

“Honestly looks more fun that driving the McLaren”

“he’s faster than the mclarens”

Seems like Ricciardo has finally found his mojo back once away from the turmoil of the sport.

“Danny is living the time of his life not having to drive for McLaren”

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Can Daniel Ricciardo bounce back with that elusive Red Bull racing seat in the near future?