Formula 1’s Italian Giants Scuderia Ferrari has been in the spotlight since Lewis Hamilton’s ‘dream switch’ announcement to Ferrari from 2025. Following this news, Ferrari’s F1 seat has become part of the heated discussion as to which Formula 1 racers did the Reds try to sign in the past.
Regarding Ferrari’s F1 seat, VCARB’s Daniel Ricciardo revealed his past involvement with the team in a recent interview.
Was Ferrari interested in signing Daniel Ricciardo?
In a recent interview, Daniel Ricciardo—the current Visa Cash App RB (formerly Alpha Tauri) driver—has revealed that he held transfer talks with Ferrari during the pandemic days, back in 2020.
Speaking about his talks with Ferrari, he said, “There was conversations, but it was never like ‘Here’s the contract, will you sign it?’ It never got to that point. So, it was never close to a point where it was in my hands and I certainly engaged in some conversations, but I would say it got to the first level it never got to the second or even the third.”
“It was never crazy close, because also they were a top team, so it was always something at the time I was keeping an eye on,” Ricciardo added.
Daniel Ricciardo admitted prioritizing Ferrari’s F1 form over his Italian ancestry connection during the transfer talks. “I never wanted to just put everything into that like ‘Oh, it would be amazing to be a Ferrari driver one day’ I kind of had a simpler approach that if it works, if the timings right, maybe that’s a thing that happens. But I didn’t put everything into it,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s a very prestigious race team, but it’s a race team just like the others. I try not to put too much weight into all the other stuff that comes with it,” Ricciardo ended.
From what Sportszion understands, Ferrari considered Ricciardo as an alternative option, in case talks with Carlos Sainz fell apart. Instead, Daniel Ricciardo is now VCARB’s main man for the 2024 F1 season, having replaced Nyck De Vries last year.
Can Daniel Ricciardo lead RB to F1 success?
Daniel Ricciardo, who only joined the Red Bull sister team midway through last season, will be entering his second season with the team as its main man.
In his first season (2023) with the team, he scored total 6 points from 7 race starts, appearing in the top 10 only once. As the 2023 F1 season ended, he stood at the 17th position in the Driver’s Championship. His last best season was back in 2020, when he finished at 5th in the Driver’s cup.
Although Ricciardo is an experienced and skillful F1 driver, it is clear that his best days are past him, and it will take some time before he is back to his best.
Despite Ricciardo claiming to be confident during the VCARB-01’s launch, there is little possibility that he can lead the RB team to success this season.
Daniel Ricciardo, joined by Yuki Tsunoda, will be entering the F1 tracks on February 21st for the pre-season testing.
Did Ferrari make a mistake by not signing Ricciardo? Can VCARB take a shot at the title with him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
