Daniel Ricciardo will replace fellow driver Nyck de Vries on the AlphaTauri team for the remainder of the 2023 Formula One season.

Ricciardo, who has been a reserve driver, was behind the wheel of Red Bull’s current RB19 car on Tuesday in a Pirelli tire test at Silverstone. The eight-time Formula One winner will return to front-line Formula One racing at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix on July 23.

“I am stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!” Ricciardo said in a statement.

Ricciardo, a 34-year-old Australian, raced for McLaren for the past two years but was left without a seat for 2023 when the final year of his contract was terminated by mutual agreement in August.

“I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team,” said Franz Tost, AlphaTauri team principal. “There’s no doubt about his driving skills, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straight forward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.”

The 28-year-old de Vries has yet to record any points and resides in last place in the driver standings.

–Field Level Media