Daniel Ricciardo had a specific condition before agreeing to return to Red Bull as a reserve.
The Aussie returns to his old team for the 2023 season, after being let go by McLaren a year earlier than planned. He will not have a race seat, but will act as Red Bull's third driver and could still race if either Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez is forced to miss a race weekend for any given reason.
Ricciardo has made it clear he hopes to return to a race seat in the future, and he feels signing back with the Red Bull stable will give him a good chance of doing that. But, after the most difficult season of his career, he had a specific request for 2023.
While he has agree to be a reserve driver, he has made it clear he will not be at every race weekend. Ricciardo made it clear he needs to have some time away from the sport next season to clear his head and get back to being ready to go again in 2024, if he gets the chance.
"I won't be at 24 races," he declared in Abu Dhabi last weekend. "Otherwise I may as well still be on the grid. I made it clear that I needed time off."
He then turned to presenter and former racer Jenson Button and added: "I remember Barcelona last year, so very early in my McLaren career. I out-qualified Lando [Norris] and [Button] said to me: 'It's about time you showed some pace!' I remember you scratching your head about why I was struggling with the car. Sorry to leave a fan frustrated!
"It has beaten me down, the past couple of years, which is why I want a little bit of time removed. I want to find a part of myself again and rebuild a little bit. When it doesn't work you can so easily just be angry, bitter, have negative emotions to something you love."
After finishing in the points in what could be his final F1 race last weekend, Ricciardo went on to say he was pleased that he managed to finish such a difficult year on a high. "I'm relieved with how the race ended," he said with his trademark smile.
"I look back to a week ago [in Brazil] – if that was the finale, it would have left a sour taste in my mouth. To see the chequered flag, to be in the points, to hold off Sebastian Vettel was fun. I crossed the line and put in a solid effort which leaves me fulfilled.
"There were races where I felt more comfortable but this was the difficult. All of a sudden, a week later, I'd be back where I was. The consistency and the unknown were what made it so tricky – I'm happy to have had a few nice ones since the summer break."
