'Role Ricciardo gives Red Bull good back-up in case anything happens'

With the announcement of Logan Sargeant to Williams, the 2023 grid is complete. Romain Grosjean has been giving his opinion on the teams' line-ups. The Frenchman thinks Red Bull Racing has a good back-up with Daniel Ricciardo as a third driver.

Several teams have opted for a new driver after this season. Nicholas Latifi, for instance, is to leave his team to make room for Sargeant. Mick Schumacher has also not been given a contract extension and will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg in 2023.

Grosjean explained on his YouTube channel that he personally would not have chosen Hulkenberg. "It’s not the choice I would have made. I think Mick Schumacher had a good end to the season and there were no real reasons to change him, but the team wanted a different driver."

Future opportunity for Ricciardo at Red Bull?

At Red Bull, there are no changes next year with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as teammates. However, the team does gain a new third driver with Ricciardo. After the incident between Verstappen and Perez in Brazil, there was speculation that the Australian would have the possibility of getting a seat at the top team in 2024. Perez's contract actually runs until the end of 2024, but with a deteriorating relationship with Verstappen, that might end early. Grosjean commented on Ricciardo's new role: "That gives Red Bull a really good backup in case anything happens."