After being a motor racing nomad, Daniel Ricciardo says being back in the Red Bull stable with Formula One's newest team, the now-rebranded Visa Cash App RB, has been like coming home.
Ricciardo won seven races while at Red Bull from 2014 to 2018. Last year he joined the Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri team, and he is now tipped as a possible replacement for Mexican Sergio Perez to partner world champion Max Verstappen in 2025.
"Getting back into Red Bull and the family, I feel so much at home, so the truth is this is where I want to be," Ricciardo told Reuters. "I am embracing it a lot more because a year ago I was unsure if I would race Formula One ever again ..."
"Deep down I knew I wasn't done but there was no guarantee I would be offered a seat again."
For now, a new name, look and sponsors have fueled new ambitions of moving up the grid for Ricciardo and his Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Visa Cash App RB completed its makeover on Thursday with a splashy launch of its new livery, smack in the middle of Super Bowl week.
"I think it is a year when the team takes that step and (is) not seen as a Red Bull junior team anymore," said Ricciardo, who is an NFL fan and attended last year's Super Bowl but will miss Sunday's as he prepares for testing.
"It's a team that is going to stand on its own two feet and hopefully make some noise."
While it is still a little over three weeks until the roar of engines is heard at the season opener in Bahrain, there has been plenty of buzz in the F1 world.
Mercedes' seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton has announced a shock move to Ferrari in 2025, while all of motorsport is awaiting the outcome of an investigation of Red Bull principal Christian Horner for an unspecified complaint.
Ricciardo is close to Horner but had no comment on his former boss's situation.
He was also vague about his own possible move to Red Bull, but not about Hamilton.
"I always thought there was the possibility he could race for Ferrari so I would say it didn't shock me," he said.
"I think it was the timing, that one threw me a little bit.
"But seeing him in red? No, I can definitely understand it."
