Ricciardo jokes about 'Hulkenback': 'He needs to change his name'

Daniel Ricciardo is hopeful of regaining a regular place in Formula 1 in the future. The Australian is taking a gap year next season, although he will join Red Bull Racing as a reserve driver. For his possible return, he takes Nico Hulkenberg as a role model.

The German will race for Haas F1 in 2023, where he will team up with Kevin Magnussen. From the start of his career in 2010, Hulkenberg went through no less than five different teams and managed to return to the motorsport class several times.

The retention of Hulkenberg gives Ricciardo hope. The experienced driver is therefore keen to be back in every race weekend by 2024. "Hulkenback - he needs to change his name, because he’s come back so many times now. It’s no more berg, it’s back'," Ricciardo joked to opposite Crash.net.

The driver expects the gap year to be positive for him. "I know myself obviously better than anyone knows me, and I know what I need or what I feel will help me and things like that, so I have confidence in taking the year off, because I know what good it will do for me."

Earlier this week, Ricciardo revealed that he had a lot of support from Sebastian Vettel this calendar year. The discontinued Formula One driver called him frequently to support him during his difficult period at McLaren, making Ricciardo see in Vettel a true friend.