The CEO of AlphaTauri has revealed that Red Bull originally refused to allow them to sign Daniel Ricciardo as a replacement for Nyck de Vries. Replaced by Oscar Piastri at McLaren, Ricciardo returned to Red Bull as reserve driver last season after failing to secure a seat for the 2023 season. Ricciardo eventually returned the grid in July, replacing Nyck De Vries at Alpha Tauri, Red Bull’s sister team. Bayer explained that Red Bull boss Christian Horner wasn’t overly keen on the idea, while the team’s senior advisor Helmut Marko was interested in the move. ‘Originally it was said: ‘No, Daniel is a reserve driver at Red Bull and it stays that way’,’ Bayer told German publication Motorsport Magazin.

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