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Red Bull Racing's reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo is not being considered in the frame for an F1 seat this season as he is in a state of "rehabilitation", according to Sky F1's Ted Kravitz.
The Australian driver had returned to Red Bull as their reserve driver after having a disastrous campaign with McLaren in 2022.
Ricciardo would be evaluated by Red Bull during the post-race test in the next weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, though he is still not being considered for contention for a race this year.
Kravitz said in his Notebook after Friday's qualifying in Austria:
“It doesn’t seem like Daniel Ricciardo is going to get into an AlphaTauri, or anything else. He’s just doing some testing."
Adding further, he said:
"I think it’s going to take longer for the re-finding of the Ricciardo mojo. He certainly is not going to be bounced into a seat this year – although I could be wrong on that."
According to reports, a lot of drivers were considered to replace rookie Alpha Tauri driver Nyck de Vries, should he not be able to bring points to the team. Enduring a difficult rookie season, the driver was given four races to redeem himself.
De Vries would likely be replaced by Red Bull junior and Super Formula frontrunner Liam Lawson in Alpha Tauri.
What is Christian Horner's opinion on Daniel Ricciardo's current situation?
Addressing rumors that Ricciardo might be considered to team up with Yuki Tsunoda in Alpha Tauri if Nyck de Vries isn't able to perform, Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has left the decision to their sister team to pick a driver of their choice.
Speaking at the press conference, Horner said:
"Well, it's still very early days, you know, for next year. And I think that Daniel is under contract for the year. He's going to be driving our car for the first time after the British Grand Prix. And he's obviously a world-class driver. He's won what, seven Grands Prix in his career to date."
Speaking further about the driver's fate, Horner said:
"So I think the first thing will be to see how he performs and where his motivation is, and then from there, it's a question for AlphaTauri as to, you know, their choices for the following season."
As of now, Daniel Ricciardo assists Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in setting up their cars to perfection with simulation testing.
