Daniel Ricciardo has left the F1 world speechless with a brilliant drive in his first Grand Prix race with AlphaTauri. The Aussie driver was back on the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday for the first time since being dumped by McLaren last year.
Ricciardo finished in 13th place, but it was a remarkable result considering he outperformed teammate Yuki Tsunoda (15th) and had to battle back after falling to 18th on the opening corner. The Aussie was forced off track after he was hit from behind by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu.
However he managed to make up five places in a sensational drive that showed he hasn’t lost any of his abilities. Ricciardo managed to make medium tyres last a whopping 40 laps.
In his first race for eight months, the 34-year-old admitted he was concerned about surviving the heat and sheer physicality of the Hungaroring circuit. “But I feel like I still have a bit of energy,” he said afterwards.
“I was certainly I don’t want to say worried, a word less than worried. This is always one of the most physical races, let alone having not done this for eight months. I thought after 30 laps I would be singing for a breath of fresh air, but I actually felt great.
