Red Bull duo say Ricciardo F1 sim input will be a boost
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez reckon Red Bull will gain significantly from Daniel Ricciardo working in its simulator on Formula 1 weekends as part of his new third driver role.
Ricciardo made his first official reappearance as a Red Bull employee at the team's 2023 livery launch event in New York last Friday, where it also announced an impending engine partnership with Ford.
He confirmed he is set to complete a series of tyre tests for Red Bull "in the middle of the year" but said "mainly the sim work is the driving stuff for now".
Red Bull has no plans for Ricciardo to appear in any 2023 practice sessions at the events he is scheduled to attend this season, which was estimated late in 2022 to be around half of the 23-race calendar.
The first of those events is set to be Ricciardo's home race in Australia, with his efforts in Red Bull's simulator during the preceding Bahrain and Saudi Arabian weekends predicted to be valuable by his teammates.
Verstappen, who raced alongside Ricciardo at Red Bull between 2016 and 2018, said the Australian has "always been a professional and a super nice guy to work with, as well as a teammate from my side as well".
He added: "Also for the whole team. And also back at the factory, for the people working in the simulator, [they can] rely on his experience.
"He's raced in Formula 1 for a very long time. He's a race winner. So yeah, we were very happy to have him on board that's for sure."
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Perez said Red bull is "very fortunate to have Daniel, [with] the level of experience that he has".
"To be able to have him back at the factory with the engineers," Perez continued, "he really knows what we are talking about with the car [and] he will really understand what we're talking about.
"So, I think it's right to have someone like him around. Especially on [race] weekends – he will be a massive help."
When asked if Ricciardo's presence at the team where he previously raced between 2014 and 2018 would mean added pressure about staying on as Verstappen's teammate beyond his current 2024-ending contract, Perez replied: "No.
"When you are at Red Bull Racing, you've got to perform at your best. It doesn't matter if Daniel is here or not. Red Bull can pick pretty any driver they want on the grid."
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