Ricciardo’s Red Bull aspirations on track despite injury

Daniel Ricciardo’s aspirations to pair up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2025 remain intact after significant news on team alignments for the upcoming season.

Recent reports indicate that Ricciardo will stay on board with AlphaTauri for the 2024 season, edging out rising talent from New Zealand, Liam Lawson. This positions Ricciardo alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the season.

Ricciardo’s commitment to F1 was evident when he resumed engineering duties at the Singapore Grand Prix, following a hand injury at the Dutch Grand Prix in August.

Lawson, on the other hand, leveraged Ricciardo’s absence by demonstrating impressive form, securing his first two championship points and consistently outpacing Tsunoda throughout the weekend. This spurred speculation about Lawson securing a seat with Red Bull Racing’s sister team.

However several prominent motor sport personalities, including F1 journalist Tobi Gruner, have said it’s much more likely Tsunoda and Riccardio will race together in 2024.

Ricciardo’s contract position strengthens his chances to join Verstappen at Red Bull in 2025, a prospect made even more plausible due to Sergio Perez’s recent on-track struggles.

It’s worth noting that Ricciardo underwent surgery two days post his accident at the Dutch Grand Prix, where he broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand. Post-surgery, he has been recuperating and hasn’t raced since.

AlphaTauri team officials have said Riccardio is unlikely to bet fit to race in Japan from Sunday, but will ready for the Qatar Grand Prix in October.

Verstappen is the $1.30 favourite to win the Japanese event, with Perez the second favourite at $12, with Lando Norris ($15) and Lewis Hamilton ($17) also having some money behind them.

Australian online bookmaker sites like Neds, Ladbrokes and Boombet have got some interesting markets on Formula 1 races, including top four and six finishes, fastest lap and podium finish.

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