F1: Alpine should sign Ricciardo

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has advised Alpine to give their vacant seat to Ricciardo, claiming that he would pursue the Aussie if he was in their position.

“I think I probably would (go with Ricciardo) to be honest with you,” he said on the F1: Beyond The Grid podcast.

“They obviously know him from a couple of seasons ago and he was very together during his last season there, scoring podiums, and I think he’s the type of guy that, I think you could rebuild him.

“It’s obviously not been a great experience for him (at McLaren) for whatever reason but you just have to think back to some of the drives that he did for us, some of the wins he had, the podiums, some of the stunning overtakes he was capable of … that’s still in there I’m sure, he just needs a bit of a reset.

“You don’t just forget how to deliver so I hope for him he gets another opportunity and gets himself back on the grid for next year.”

“If I’m not meant to be on the grid next year then maybe something happens next year which puts me in an even better position,’ Ricciardo said.

“Or maybe I learn something about myself through having time off that it gets more out of me, or it builds that hunger or fire to another level that I didn’t know existed.

“I’m not panicked about maybe not racing next year because maybe some other good things will happen – that’s given me a lot more ease of the situation.”