How good was Daniel Ricciardo's F1 comeback in Hungary?

Having returned to the grid full-time as a replacement for the underperforming Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team, Ricciardo said he felt “95 percent” comfortable after his first day of running on Friday. 

The Australian went on to have an impressive qualifying as he reached Q2 in what is considered the slowest car on the grid and took 13th, four places ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda who was eliminated in Q1. 

Ricciardo’s first race since last November’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got off to a dramatic start when he was punted by Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo at the first corner, leading to further contact with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. 

Somehow Ricciardo emerged unscathed from the drama but found himself towards the back of the grid. An early second stop proved key for his race, as he took advantage of free air to leapfrog several of his rivals. 

A P13 finish at the chequered flag may have appeared unremarkable on paper, but given the circumstances, it represented a solid job from Ricciardo in largely unfamiliar machinery (he had just one simulator session in the AT04 prior to Hungary). 

Ricciardo finished 21 seconds behind 10th-placed Lance Stroll and reckons points might have been on the cards had he not been collected by Zhou at Turn 1. 

“If we stayed ahead and held position at the start I believe we could have really fought for a points finish today,” he explained. 

“I was kind of just stuck behind a bit of a train behind [Logan] Sargeant and someone else and I knew in dirty air, even with these new cars, this circuit is definitely a hard one to follow at. 

“But I think they pitted quite early and as soon as they did I felt the grip coming back in the tyre and thought ‘let’s see what we can do in clear air’. And that was better. 

“Then we pitted relatively early. I think we got put back in traffic and that’s when I was like ‘whatever we can do let’s have a think to give me clear air.’”

Ricciardo said he feels re-energised after a six-month break on the F1 sidelines. 

“Even if it wasn’t the year I expected off, half a year still gave me a kind of reset,” he said. “I feel energised again. 

“Actually I remember having a conversation with [Fernando] Alonso, maybe two years ago now. We were just having a chat and he said the break for him was one of the best things he ever did. 

“That got me thinking that if I ever feel I need it, don’t be so scared of it. Then I think seeing the year he’s had filled me with some confidence. 

“Really glad to have been put in this position and come back feeling everything normal again. The grid, the start, the adrenaline, the emotion… I enjoyed it all.”

And Ricciardo was left encouraged by his consistent gains across the weekend - something that was missing from his failed McLaren stint that nearly ruined his reputation. 

“That’s really the most encouraging thing,” he said.

“I felt obviously for whatever reason the McLaren was normally not speaking my language. I felt like especially last year it was just a bit of a stalemate and it was really hard to get out of that.

“That’s why the time off and then a fresh team and environment, it’s just been probably the best thing for me.

“All I can ask for is progress and being open to learning again. That’s important.” 

The 34-year-old has made it clear that he wants the Red Bull seat currently occupied by Sergio Perez for 2025, so what did his former team boss make of his performance in Hungary?

“I didn’t get chance to follow too much of his race,” Christian Horner told media including Crash.net. "I think he had an accident on the first lap, which put him out of position. But then he seemed to recover pretty well. 

“He’s bringing a lot of positive energy to that team, a lot of direction and I think we’ll start to see them hopefully making some steps forward in coming races.”

It might not have been headline-grabbing, but Ricciardo will be rightly pleased at how his F1 return went.