Nico Rosberg has questioned the 'unnecessary' pressure that Daniel Ricciardo has put himself under since joining AlphaTauri by being so vocal about his Red Bull aspirations.
The Australian driver has been very public in his plans to secure a return to the Red Bull primary team before his F1 career comes to a close.
Ricciardo, who left McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, will partner Yuki Tsunoda for the rest of the 2023 campaign after Nyck de Vries was dropped by AlphaTauri in the wake of the British Grand Prix.
With Sergio Perez faltering in recent weeks, Ricciardo has a golden chance to audition for the second Red Bull seat should he impress this season.
Ricciardo under pressure from the off
In a conversation with Martin Brundle on the Sky Sports F1 qualifying broadcast in Hungary, Rosberg questioned the need for Ricciardo to pile so much pressure onto himself.
Speaking ahead of the session, Rosberg explained: "The one thing I will say, it’s unnecessary, that Daniel makes it so clear that he is here to get back into the Red Bull Racing team, you know?
"It’s unnecessary extra pressure that he has set himself."
Rosberg went on to explain that he wouldn't have made as much noise about his long-term Red Bull aspirations.
"I would have played that a bit differently and downplayed it a little bit."