Daniel Ricciardo insists his desire to return to the Formula 1 grid only with a top team is not borne out of arrogance.
The 33-year-old was left without a race seat this year after his time with McLaren was cut short. After two seasons of the Aussie struggling to adapt to his car, they decided to avoid the third campaign they were contracted to spend together.
Instead, Ricciardo is now a reserve back at his old Red Bull team and biding his time for an F1 return. But he has made it clear that he won't be jumping at just any chance that comes his way.
"I still am at a point where it's not at any cost, it's not just to be back on the grid," he said earlier this month. "A lot of the reason for taking this year off was that I didn't want to just jump back into a car, any car just to be one of the F1 drivers.
"I want to be back with a top team and obviously a team where I have my confidence back and my mojo." Understandably, those statements have led to some people making the point that Ricciardo's results at McLaren won't have convinced many top teams that he is the obvious choice for any vacancies which may arise.
And that alone looks like a long shot. Both Red Bull drivers are tied down beyond the end of this season, as are the Ferrari pair, with Mercedes the only team out of the 'big three' which may need a new driver at the end of this year – if Lewis Hamilton does not renew his contract.
Even high-flying Aston Martin will not need a new driver for 2024, with Fernando Alonso tied down to a multi-year deal and team owner Lawrence Stroll unlikely to axe his son Lance. Despite that difficult picture, Ricciardo insisted in a Top Gear interview: "It doesn't scare me.
"It's always been like that. And I knew this was going to be a risk obviously removing myself from a seat. But I think it's clear what I don't want. I don't want [just] any seat next year, as much as I think I want to be racing again. I don't want to just start from zero, and kind of build my career from scratch.
"It's not coming from an arrogant place. But I'm just past that. I don't think that's going to stimulate me or give me that second wind I'm looking for. So it makes the top seats even scarcer. But that's where I know I will be able to perform at my best and thrive. That's the sort of stuff I'm keeping my eyes on."
