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

Make us your Google favorite

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.

Article continues under video

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)."