"Ricciardo doesn’t deserve this place" - Fans unimpressed with reports of Daniel Ricciardo driving for AlphaTauri alongside Yuki Tsunoda next season

F1 fans were left unimpressed after it was reported that Daniel Ricciardo would be partnering with Yuki Tsunoda at the AlphaTauri F1 team for the 2024 season.

The Aussie driver has been on the sidelines since his hand injury at the Dutch Grand Prix last month. Before sustaining a fracture on his left hand, Daniel Ricciardo had competed in two races for the team and had performed well on the tracks in Hungary and Spa.

However, in three outings, his replacement Liam Lawson has garnered praise from all quarters with respect to how quickly he has adapted to an F1 car. Many believe that he should get a drive with the team for next season given his P9 result at the Singapore GP last weekend.

Fastest Pitstop's reports of Daniel Ricciardo getting announced as the driver to partner Yuki Tsunoda have not particularly sat well with the fans online, with one fan even claiming that the Aussie does not deserve the seat.

"Ricciardo doesn’t deserve this place," the fan wrote.

Here are some more reactions:

Red Bull team boss on Daniel Ricciardo's ambitions for the 2024 season

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently said Daniel Ricciardo is currently on loan to the AlphaTauri and will have to stake his claim in the remaining races for the 2024 season to be in contention for a Red Bull Drive in 2025.

While appearing on F1 Nation, Horner said:

“At the moment, there’s only something in place until the end of the season. So there’s no thoughts or expectations beyond that. We’ve loaned him (Ricciardo) to AlphaTauri to the end of the year. Obviously, our drivers are going to be Max and Checo again next year. But it’s always good to have talent in reserve."

“I think Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri, he firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat. That’s his golden objective. And by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025.”

While reporting from the F1 paddock in Singapore, Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz claimed that he saw a meeting happening between Horner and AlphaTauri team personnel.

“It could be about anything but I’m going to wonder it’s going to be about what you do with Liam Lawson, who is obviously a little star," Kravitz said. "Whether they keep him in the car long-term and they partner him up with Daniel Ricciardo and what you do with Yuki Tsunoda."

It will be fascinating to see what the Red Bull hierarchy does to the lineup of AlphaTauri for the 2024 season.