Ricciardo: Take-homes from 2023, some metal in my hand

Ricciardo lost his McLaren drive at the end of 2022 and after spending the first half of the 2023 F1 season in a reserve role with Red Bull, he was called in to replace the disappointing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

After driving for two races with the Faenza-based squad, Ricciardo broke his hand in practice for the third race, the Dutch Grand Prix, and was sidelined for four races coming back at the race in Austin after Liam Lawson filled in for him.

Facing the media in the 2023 F1 season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ricciardo was asked about his take-homes from a shortened 2023 F1 campaign, he quipped: "Some metal in my hand.

"I think when I look back on this year, it's a year I never would have expected in so many ways," he went on. "I didn't expect to be racing at all this year, let alone kind of going through everything else.

"So it's something that I'm definitely happy [about]. You know, the place I am and what I feel, let's say inside my heart ultimately, I'm really in a happy place, and I'm happy being here racing again. I'd say like, just fully hungry and motivated.

"And, it's probably the first off-season that I would not really want an off-season, you know. I want to keep racing and keep a bit of the flow going. But also the thought of having a little bit of a break and getting myself prepared for next year, that excites me as well," the Australian concluded.

Ricciardo was confirmed as full time driver for AlphaTauri alongside Yuki Tsunoda for 2024, but remains adamant that his target is returning into a top driving role at Red Bull.