Daniel Ricciardo is set for a Formula 1 test "in a few weeks' time" to give the Aussie racer a chance to prove his skills have not declined.
The 33-year-old re-signed with his old Red Bull team as a reserve for this season after being axed by McLaren a year earlier than planned. It means Ricciardo does not hold an F1 race seat for the first time since mid-2011, when he was called in by HRT to replace Narain Karthikeyan.
His responsibilities include lots of simulator work to help the team to develop the car while his popularity also makes him an excellent marketing tool for Red Bull. But Ricciardo has made it clear he intends to spend as little time on the sidelines as possible.
The Aussie is eyeing a race seat for 2024 but does not want to be driving at the back of the grid, which severely limits his options. Nevertheless, team boss Christian Horner revealed a plan to give his driver a chance to show what he can do, and explained why Ricciardo was brought back into the fold.
"Well, we brought him back because I felt that, you know, Daniel wasn't done with Formula 1," he told NPR. "And to see him just whimper out of the sport wouldn't have been right. So I think he fell out of love with Formula 1 over the last couple of years.
"Certainly, the Daniel that came back at the end of last year wasn't one that we recognize, you know? The big smile and the big personality. And I think he's gradually re-finding his love for the sport. He's finding his passion for driving again.
"We'll see where that... what opportunities that presents for him. But I think the first thing for him is to rediscover his mojo, his passion for the sport and his inner dog. So we're going to give him a test in a few weeks' time and see what he does."
Speaking to RaceFans in Monaco, Ricciardo shed some light onto how he was affected mentally by his McLaren struggles. "I don't want to like go too far and be like, 'yeah, I was depressed' or whatever, but I certainly wasn't always eating as much," he said.
"I think I just wasn't feeling right. I was honestly just not like my happy self, not my normal self. I think as well so much was going on last year, I could feel like I had this kind of nervous energy inside me. I didn't have an appetite as much. I was just a bit scattered. So yeah, there was certainly like some of that. So I was a little thin."
