“When I adopted the Honey Badger, I made that pact to myself that I would rather try and fail to try and potentially crash than not try at all.” This was the reason Daniel Ricciardo quoted about adopting the qualities of a Honey Badger personality. But we haven’t seen that killer instinct from him for a long time now. Ricciardo used to be known for pursuing its prey, but where has that trait gone? Throughout his time away from his “home” Red Bull, this notion kept coming to all of our minds.

Ricciardo’s current team boss, Christian Horner, had similar ideas as well since he had witnessed the “beast” that was Daniel Ricciardo while he was a Red Bull member up until he departed in 2018. Previously, Horner stated that Ricciardo wasn’t the same guy who left the Milton Keynes team. After a disappointing two-year tenure with McLaren, the eight-time Grand Prix winner returned to the Austrian team, and the host of the unlapped podcast now believes Horner’s statements to be accurate.

We’re all familiar with Ricciardo for his daring late braking, but lately, we haven’t seen that. As team boss, Horner saw several specific changes in Ricciardo when he returned to Red Bull, which prompted him to say, “It was clear when he came back that he picked up some habits that we didn’t recognize as the Daniel that had left us two or three years earlier.” Horner subsequently explained that Ricciardo may have adjusted to a vehicle that “has its limitations.”

The host of the show Unlapped believes that all of Horner’s claims are accurate since we have all been missing Ricciardo’s true driving abilities in past seasons. He said, “I think it all comes back down to kind of the big, the big kind of question mark around Ricardo for the last few years, right, Which was? What happened to the Ricardo of 20/18/2017, especially when you’re in Christian Horner shoes, because the Ricciardo that last worked at Red Bull Was he was a beast, you know, he in certain points in certain races, if there was a sniff of victory. The guy you kind of wanted in those situations often was Ricardo.”

He added, “A lot of his wins, he kind of, you know, he kind of came from nowhere, came to the field. And would win races. And then obviously Renault, he had some, had some really good stints there. But McLaren?Other than Monza, if you take Monza where he won away, it was just baffling. But I think what he means, you know, specifically about Mojo is there’s clearly something that went missing for Danny Ric over the past two seasons.”

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After McLaren cut ties with Ricciardo, he received several offers to join new teams, however, he opted to take a break from the action. Now, one of the team owners who wanted to sign the flamboyant Australian for season 2023 has shared their thoughts on Ricciardo’s decision.

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Even though Formula 1 has numerous benefits, it can also be incredibly demanding, as we witnessed in Honey Badger’s case. Ricciardo hasn’t had a break since making his debut in 2011, and his form was getting out of hand. So the Honey Badger opted to take a break and make a comeback when his “batteries are fully charged”

The Australian driver was the most in-demand driver on the grid when McLaren let him go. One of the teams who approached Ricciardo was Haas, and the team’s boss has since stated that Ricciardo made the “right decision” by taking a break from the competition.

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During a conversation with Mail Sport, Guenther Steiner said, ‘It’s good to have a year in my opinion just to reflect on it because, for sure, the last year wasn’t easy for him because he is a good race car driver and he was beaten by his teammate. ‘And for sure, he’s not happy about that. ‘It’s a downward spiral once you fall into. Therefore, taking a step back, maybe could make him go forward. “

WATCH THIS STORY: Will Daniel Ricciardo Get Swapped in for Sergio Perez at Red Bull?

With the current pairing at Red Bull, do you think the Austrian outfit will opt for Daniel Ricciardo as Perez’s replacement?