Daniel Ricciardo to immediately replace axed Nyck de Vries for AlphaTauri
The huge decision comes after a Crash exclusive where Ricciardo admitted he would accept an AlphaTauri drive if it might lead to getting another shot with Red Bull.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull's advisor, made the call to axe De Vries after just 10 grands prix with AlphaTauri, paving the way for the hugely popular Ricciardo to return to the grid full-time.
Ricciardo will drive at next week's F1 Hungarian Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, his first race since losing his McLaren seat at the end of last year, and will stay with them for the rest of this season.
Ricciardo exclusively told us at Silverstone about possibly driving for AlphaTauri: “If there’s the possibility to obviously be here [Red Bull]… The truth is this is where I want to be. I’m not going to weave my way around it.
“If that creates a path to get back here then yeah it’s something I would look at because ultimately this is the place where I want to get back to.”
News about De Vries' axing came on Tuesday, originating in his home country of the Netherlands, while Ricciardo was busy driving a Red Bull for the first time at a tyre test.
He also told us last week that the "everybody is watching" the tyre test, an admission that it could prove pivotal in his F1 comeback.
In the end, his return to the grid is secure regardless, at De Vries' expense.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who watched Ricciardo in the tyre test: "It is great to see Daniel hasn’t lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his SIM sessions translate on track.
"His times during the tyre test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
