Ricciardo will debut alongside Tsunoda for AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team, at💮 this weekend’s F1 Hungarian Grand Prix as a reജplacement for the sacked Nyck de Vries.

The veteran Australian’s eventual goal is t🙈o earn a Red Bull seat - but his newest teammate also shares that ambition.

“It’ll be clear soon, but either driver will be slower🥀 and the slower guy won’t make it to Red Bull,” Tsunoda said in Budapest. 

“That’s easy, the faster guy has more chance to go to Red Bull, it’s h🅷ow it works in Formula1, tౠhat’s it.”

Tsunoda has scored AlphaTauri’s only two points of a disappointing season so far. De Vries didn’t manage a single point in his 10 races, and the team 🃏sit at the bottom of the constructors’ championship.

Ricciardo’s high-profile arrival may now pile the pressure onto Tsun🥃oda.

“It’s a challenge alw༒ays,” the Japanese driver said. “In the end it doesn’t♈ make much difference, Daniel or Nyck, whatever. 

“Anyway I have t🦩o do the same thing I was doing to Nyck, you need to beat your team mate, that’s the most important thing.

“Daniel is not an easy driver to beat, but at the same time I’ll do what I did in the laꦕst couple of races and it’s clear the faster guy will stay or go up, that’s it.”

Tsunoda has his best chance yet to ﷽prove his own mettle if he can edge the more experienced Ricciardo over the rest of this 🐠season.

“Yeah I thinkꦜ it’s positive, Nyck came as a rookie and everyone expected me to beat him,” Tsunoda said.&🌼nbsp;

“That’s the normal thing. Daniel won multiple grands prix👍 and has experience already in this year’ꦍs cars, McLaren. 

“I think it’s good for me, 🎐but like you say, highly rated, so if I beat him, everyone starts to recognise more than a couple of previous races. 

“But it’s not easy, he’s good, I know he’s good, and once he has confidence in the car I’m sure he will perform like Red Bull. In that case I cℱan🗹 learn still, what he’s doing, why he’s able to achieve good results in the past, I can tell from the data, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The news of Ricciardo’s🌳 comeback arrived during a tyre test driving a Red Bull after a series of phone calls between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.

“I was doing the simulator on that day, in Red Bull. Christian just told me just before the news, actually we met bܫy coincidence in the factory, and he told me then,” Tsunoda explained. 

“I didn’t know until on that day t𒁃here ౠwere team releases.

“There were rumours already. I was like, not really surprised, but yeah, stillꦓ surprised when I heard. It was quick.”

Tsunoda was asked if ex-teammate De Vries should h🎐ave received more than just 10 gr꧋ands prix to prove himself.

“I think so,” he answered. “I think just 10 races, espe𝄹cially a couple of tracks he didn’t know. I think so. 

“But at the ꦛsame time, I know what Red Bull’s side is saying. But at the same time, yeah, I think he deserved at least until the summer break. I was thinking at least that way.”