For most fans, Daniel Ricciardo returning to the grid is a highly thrilling scenario. The beloved Australian will become a regular again on the paddocks and media circus. However, to mar the dust of excitement in the air, some experts are throwing caution to the wind around Ricciardo’s return. There are some who believe a lot can go wrong for the Australian while driving for Red Bull’s sister team. In fact, ESPN’s Katie George believes Ricciardo was put on the AlphaTauri seat to serve a “political motive“. By political motive, she could very well be referring to Dr. Helmut Marko pitting Sergio Perez and Ricciardo against each other.

The stern and unforgiving Dr. Helmut Marko had enough of Nyck de Vries. In fact, De Vries received multiple public reprimands from the Austrian leading up to his sacking. Even though many believe the treatment of De Vries was a bit harsh, Dr. Marko won’t bat an eye. Now, the Austrian is making sure there is a fair and tough fight for the Red Bull second seat for 2024. How? He is now publicly supporting Perez after putting Ricciardo in a position to prove himself. His comments to Express prove that.

Marko said, “Sergio is second in the drivers’ standings, so what is the point of refusing his services now? He had a good race at Silverstone – he just needs to improve in qualifying.” This hardly sounds like a team boss who is not happy with his driver. This is exactly the “political motive” Katie George could be referring to in the ESPN Unlapped podcast.

She said, “I think you could see the writing on the wall as Helmut Marko became more and more vocal that there was an underlying political motive behind it with Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings. 

Now we are all aware the AT04 is far from a desirable vehicle. In fact, it’s one of the worst ones on the grid. If Ricciardo can prove himself in the AT04, the debate will become easy.

Read More: Daniel Ricciardo Inches Closer to Lifelong Dream After AlphaTauri Sacks Nyck de Vries to Announce Him as Their Replacement

Although, will Ricciardo be able to do that is a major doubt for similar reasons why he could not perform at McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo is set to face the same problem at AlphaTauri he faced at McLaren

Despite spending two full seasons with McLaren, the Australian could never get comfortable in his McLaren challenger. The regular upgrades also did not help Ricciardo with his struggles. He pinpointed his problem back in 2022 on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

Ricciardo confessed, “If you’re struggling at the exit of the corner, it’s usually a product of what happened in the corner that put you in a position where you have, say, difficulties at the exit of the corner. Most of the problems start at the corner entrance – maybe not all, but most of them.”

Now, even at AlphaTauri Ricciardo will face the same problem. Despite multiple upgrades, the AT04 is facing similar problems as revealed by technical chief Jonathan Eddolls.

“The late corner entry, let’s say the instability of the rear, was the biggest weakness we worked on. We’ve improved that, but it’s still a weakness, I’d say,” he revealed.

The Hungarian GP will be a big test for Ricciardo. It will be interesting to see how he tackles this challenge on his new team.

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