Daniel Ricciardo reveals F1 comeback plan: “Movies and junk food? That’s just not me”
The veteran driver, speaking in his home country at the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:F1 Australian Grand Prix where he is conspicuously absent from driving, has previously been non-committal abo꧑ut ever returning.
He was axed by McLaren last seaso༒n, turned down several opportunities including at Haas, and is currently Red Bull’s third driver.
Ricciardo 🅷described his year so far without an F1 drive: “I’ve actually weirdly found the days that I’veᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ got no schedule, they are the days that I’ve actually done training.
“It’s not being my own boss, but writing my own schedule has actually bro⛎ught out a lot🍌 of things in me.
“I thought ‘I’ll just sit on the couch and watch movies all day and eat junk food’, b♑ut I’m not. That’s not me.
“So even these things made me realisꦰe how much I do care about it.
“The s🅘igns are pointing towards getting back on the grid.
“I feel like that’s currently where I’m tracking, at least in my head. Just a little few other habits th🐼at I’m having or doing is pointed towards that.”
Quite where Ricciardo might go is unknown.
Red Bull are unlikely to lose Sergio Perez to create a vacℱancy, while in the unlikely event Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes, they might not turn to Ricciardo first.
Options fu🌼rther down the grid, for example Haa🐠s or Williams, could emerge.
The Australian Grand Prix is the first race of 2023 that Ricciardo has attended, and he said: “The fizz is there. I’m also content being here this weekend and not racing. I’m con💎tent j♕ust being part of the team.
“I’m happy to learn from the outside because I thin🦩k I will ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚsee more.
“I feel like I still need a bit of this t⛦ime to underst🐠and a little more, with the perspective I’ve got to kind of complete me as a driver moving forward.
“So I’m not y𝓰et champing at the bit to get in the car but it🐟 does feel good to be here.
“I’m going to sit on the p༺it wall during the sessions a💎nd I’m sure I’ll be watching the drivers pull out of the pits and be ‘oh, it would be cool to be in the car’.
“But I’ꦑm not yet foaming at the mouth. I’m still just trying to be൩ a sponge.
“I see the advantage, of course; every driver on the grid now has the advantage of being beꦜhind the whee💃l. But I have the advantage of looking at it through a wide-angle lens.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from A🦩merican sports, to football, to F1.
