Daniel Ricciardo CONVINCED he would be forgotten man after F1 return

Ricciardo keert terug bij AlphaTauri op Hungaroring — Photo: © LAT Images

Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo CONVINCED he would be forgotten man after F1 return

Daniel Ricciardo made his long-awaited F1 return in Hungary last weekend

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 27 July 2023 20:27

Daniel Ricciardo has jokingly admitted that he thought the media 'would have forgotten about' him after he made his return to Formula 1 in Hungary.

All eyes were on Ricciardo at the Hungaroring as the Australian replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

The much-loved 34-year-old will race with Red Bull's sister team at the Belgian Grand Prix for the second time this year.

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And Ricciardo for one thought that the interest in him would have died down after the fanfare he received at Hungary.

I thought you would have forgotten about me

Daniel Ricciardo made his F1 return at the Hungaroring last weekend

"I thought today would be a lot smaller,” he said about the gathered press at his driver press conference. "I thought that you would have forgotten about me already!"

"I definitely made a point to enjoy it all," he said about his F1 return. "The media day was a lot. I felt like I had won the world championship there was so much interest.

"You have to soak it all up and enjoy it. The weekend as a whole went well. Monday I was knackered, then I took it very easy and reflected."

Hungary was more enjoyable than expected

"I was happy with my performance and the way I was racing again," he added. "The weekend as chaotic as it felt, it was all under control. It was busy, but not too much.

"It was a more enjoyable experience than I've been in many times in the last year or so. I joked that I qualified 13th and finished 13th, but I was much happier than you would think.

"We are very result-driven and normally our joy is dictated by whether we are on the podium, but to be happy with not even points is the way I want to go racing now.

"Obviously I'm still very results-driven, but I feel like I did everything I should have done (in Hungary)."