Christian Horner joked that Daniel Ricciardo did "something stupid" when he left Red Bull at the end of the 2018 season.
The Aussie first drove for the team for five years, after making the step up from sister outfit Toro Rosso in 2014. But after the emergence of Max Verstappen as a teenager he felt his future lied elsewhere, and so he made the decision to join Renault.
He had some success with the French-backed team but never settled, and announced he had agreed to join McLaren before the Covid-delayed 2020 season had even begun. And after that move – apart from his 2021 Italian Grand Prix victory – Ricciardo's woes only got worse.
After a forgettable 2022 campaign, he finds himself without an F1 race seat next year at the age of 33. In the hope of getting back onto the grid as quickly as possible, Ricciardo has returned to Red Bull as a reserve and promotional driver.
At a charity event attended by Mirror Sport , Horner was asked for more details as to why the team decided to bring the Aussie back aboard. In response, the team principal pointed to the romantic element of a reunion while also admitting the marketing value had been a factor.
"Daniel joined us as a teenager and he grew up with the team here," Horner said. "He had some great success here with us, and then he went and did something stupid and went to drive for a couple of other teams and it never quite worked out.
"But Daniel is such a great personality and big character. We felt it was right to bring him back into the team – and of course promotionally, he's got the biggest smile in Formula 1. For him, he will be able to get back to having fun and rediscover his enjoyment of being a Formula 1 driver, rather than the stress he has had over the last couple of years."
Explaining why a return to Red Bull felt like the right option for him, Ricciardo told Speedcafe last month : "It's certainly a way to still stay involved and to give me the time necessary to take a back step. And that's been no secret to myself.
"As the second half of the season went on, I just needed to step away for a bit, rebuild myself, reset a bit, and also just find the intense love for it. Because, at this level, if you don't have that, then I'm not doing justice for myself or anyone around me. I'm not saying I've lost it, but I'm in fear of losing it.
"It all kind of just builds up to a point where I was like 'Okay, maybe it's best to just get a few things back in my life' – a bit more family time, bit more friends, and a bit more time for myself as well."
