Ricciardo Says Red Bull Stable Is Like Home for Him

Daniel Ricciardo. (AFP)
Daniel Ricciardo. (AFP)
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Ricciardo Says Red Bull Stable Is Like Home for Him

Daniel Ricciardo. (AFP)
Daniel Ricciardo. (AFP)

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."



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.