The F1 paddock is set to land at the Hungaroring this week for the Hungarian GP 2023. The 12th round will be an exciting one for multiple reasons. However, what really kept the fans pumped up is the return of mighty Daniel Ricciardo to the grid this weekend. This will be his first race since Abu Dhabi 2022 for McLaren. With his return to the highest degree of single-seater racing, apprehensions have started to follow.
The most recent commentary on this has come from former World Champion Damon Hill. The 1996 F1 title winner believes it will be a tough road to walk for the Honey Badger. It’s been a gap of close to eight months since the Aussie has taken a wheel of an F1 car in a race. After being parked at the bench for 2023, Ricciardo’s dreams have got a new life in the form of an AlphaTauri seat.
Ricciardo is loaned to the Faenza-based team from Red Bull. He was working in the capacity of a reserve driver for the latter. During conducting a test for the team in Silverstone this week, his phenomenal lap times sealed the spot of the Aussie. However, amidst all this, the challenge ahead for the Aussie star is as real as it gets. As discussed before, the late corner entry limitation posed by the AT-04 is a huge mountain to climb for Ricciardo.
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Won’t be easy: Damon Hill on Ricciardo’s return
The fans and F1 juggernaut have been all goofy about his return. More so, the Australian is expectedly cheery about it as well. However, when he takes the wheel of the car this week, Ricciardo will have to confront and improve on some brutal realities. Former World Champion Damon Hill said that Ricciardo has a huge mountain to climb in front of him.
Going up against Yuki Tsunoda will surely be a herculean task for the Aussie. Moreover, Hill believes that the time away from F1 will surely have an impact on his form. “When Daniel left, it was all a bit of a shock to Red Bull. He left because, basically, he could see Max coming and I think he didn’t get that loving feeling. Now they’re giving him the loving feeling to come back. He’s still got to deal with, and beat, Yuki Tsunoda, and he’s got to really hit the ground running pretty quickly,” said Hill.
“[Daniel] is going to have a massive mountain to climb to get back up to speed, it takes time. When [Fernando] Alonso was out for a bit, it’s not easy to just jump back in – it takes a bit of time to get all the neurons and the nerve endings firing again,” added the British, as reported by Planet F1.
Notably, the Honey Badger will be giving it his all and the indications of it are already visible. He flew to Faenza a day after being announced their replacement driver to work on the car. No matter what the future holds for Ricciardo, fans are undoubtedly thrilled to see him back in the Hungarian GP.
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