F1 drivers welcome JUBILANT Ricciardo back to the paddock

It feels like a long eight months since Daniel Ricciardo last appeared on the F1 grid as a full-time driver at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but he returns this weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix – and his fellow drivers are delighted to have him back.

This time he'll be racing with the team that gave him his first real opportunity in the sport, as he suits up for AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso), back with the Faenza-based outfit that he raced for before joining Red Bull.

The ‘Honey Badger’ as he’s known by fans, was smiling in full force during Thursday’s media day for the Hungarian Grand Prix, revealing that in his time away from the sport he was able to spend time with friends as well as recharge his batteries.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton joked about the Australian’s reaction to not driving during the season, as he has attended all driver’s briefings with a smile.

Hamilton said: “Of course, he’s been here so I’m not really welcoming him back. He’s been in all the driver’s briefings. I’ve never seen anyone happier to not be driving. It’s the sort of thing where you would pay not to go to another driver’s briefing when you’ve been to as many as I have.

“Daniel just came in there for free when he wasn’t even racing, so he’ll be super up to speed and of course, as a sport, he deserves to be here.”

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Drivers open their arms to Ricciardo's return

Fellow countryman Oscar Piastri shared his pleasure at the fact the grid now has two Australian drivers on it for the first time since 2013.

Piastri said: “It’s very cool, we’re from a long way away and it’s pretty rare to have two of us [Australians] at the same time. From a country with such a small population relative to Europe, it’s very cool to have two of us on the big stage.”

Ricciardo’s 2019 Red Bull replacement Pierre Gasly shared his excitement at seeing the Aussie back in F1, and as a former AlphaTauri driver, has a good idea what he's walking into.

“We talked with Daniel a bit earlier last week, and also with Nyck [De Vries] obviously," said Gasly. "I know them both. I think they’re two fantastic drivers and it’s great to see Daniel back on the grid and seeing what [is] up for grabs with him.

“He’s old enough and he knows Franz [Tost, the team principal] well enough to know what to do with him. I just think it’s great. He started there, he’s back there now. He still has plenty of years ahead of him and always enjoyed some battles with him on the racetrack.”

Sadly for Ricciardo, he won’t have the pleasure of driving the same RB19 he got to test at last week’s Pirelli tyre test, but his feedback will be crucial in helping AlphaTauri to improve their car, which has languished at the back of the F1 pack so often this year.

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