Ricciardo will make his first appearance as Red Bull’s reserve driver at his home race in Melbourne’s Albert Park, where he will be on standby for 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Max Verstappen and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Sergio Perez. 

However, barring unexpect💞ed circumstances, the 33-year-old’s weekend will largely consist of marketing activities andꦉ catching up with old friends. 

Although Ricciardo’s F1 return will be bittersweet, particularly as he watches his compatriot (and replacement) 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Oscar Piastri take part in ꩲhis first home g𒊎rand prix, there is a case that his absence from the grid is something of a blessing in disguise. 

Following McLaren’s decision to drop Ricciardo, the Woking-based outfit have endured a miserable🥀 winter and start to the new season. 

The British squad are yet to score a point in the opening two rounds and sit anchored to the bottom of the constructors’ champ💙ionship after being hamstrung by reliability issues and a lack of performance.

There has been turmoil off-track too, with Andreas Seidl’s early departure to Alfa Romeo Sauber followed by technical director Jame🌟s Key’s exit after the team conceded it had missed key development targets in the off-season.

Amid McLaren’s apparent downfall, Ricciardo must be breathing a sigh of relief. Not only is he not having 🌳to drive a bad car, he is getting the break he wanted, as well as pocketing a reported £18m as a result of his contract termination.

There may also be some s💟light vindication for Ricciardo and his fans that not all of McLaren’s problems were necessarily related to the Australian. 

So were McLaren right to get rid o𓃲f Ricciardo? Probably. It is too early to properly judge his replacement Piastri but given the extent of♋ Ricciardo’s underwhelming performances over two seasons - Monza high aside - a change was needed.

Despite all of McLaren’s problems, Piastri has looked more of a match for168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Lando Norris tha🍸n Ricciardo did in just two races. And one would assume the highly-rated Piastri’s ceiling is much higher considering he is in the early days of his F1 career. 

Will Ricciardo ever return full-time?

• ‘I want to remind people I’m still here’ - Ricciardo's Red Bull goals for 2023

At Red Bull’s pre-season launch, Riccia🎉rdo said his experience b💮eing back in the paddock in Australia would “tell me quite a lot” about his desire to return on a full-time basis. 

At the time of his McLaren departure, Ricciardo stated his intention to secure a full-🎶time seat for 2024, but only if it met his expectations. 

After all, that was a large part of the reason he decided to step away this season, given the lack of c♐ompetitive seats available.

The problem for Ricciardo is that there isn’t an obvious landing spot ไif he wantওs a front-running car. 

Barring a major fallout at Red Bull, he won’t be replacing Verstappen or Perez, while Ferrari are locked out. Ricciardo is also unlikely to be Mercedes’ first choice in the event168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Lewis Hamilton decided against renewing his contract. 

Aside from the 🔥teams that didn’t interest him at the end of 2022, it is hard to see what options Ricciardo may have. 

Ironically, a seat at🔯 McLaren may open up if Norris’ frustration leads him to seek pastures new. 

McLaren boss Zak Brown has left the door open for a Ricciardo return but having just gon🀅e through an embarrassing divorce, a reunion feels incredibly♏ unrealistic. 

Will the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix en𒉰d up being Ricciardo’s final competitive appearance in an F1 car? Unless he resets his ambitions, that prospect feels ꦡever more likely.