Ricciardo returns to Red Bull as test driver

Red Bull Racing announced Wednesday that it has signed Daniel Ricciardo to a reserve driver contract for the 2023 Formula One World Championship and possibly beyond. [Red Bull Racing announced on Wednesday that it has signed Daniel Ricciardo as a reserve driver for the 2023 F1 World Championship.

He will also be the team's first choice to race should either of its current drivers, Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez, be unavailable.

After losing his position at McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, Ricciardo was unable to find another seat and looked ahead to the end of his F1 career. However, his new role will keep him busy and in shape to continue his goal of finding a seat for the 2024 season.

"For me personally, contributing to and being surrounded by the best teams in F1 is very attractive and at the same time gives me time to recharge and refocus," Ricciardo said in a statement.

Ricciardo already has a lot of history with Red Bull. He began his F1 career as a test driver for Red Bull's feeder team Toro Rosso (now Alfa Tauri). His first season as a driver was with HRT in 2011, followed by Toro Rosso in 2011 and Red Bull in 2014 before joining Renault in 2019. He then moved to McLaren in 2021.

He won eight races in his career. One of those wins came with McLaren in 2021, and the rest came during his time at Red Bull.

Fellow Australian Oscar Piatri was named Ricciardo's replacement at McLaren in September.