Ricciardo makes Oracle Red Bull Racing return with Aussie road trip
Eight-time F1 Grand Prix winner, Daniel Ricciardo, makes a thrilling return to the Formula One cockpit, putting a championship-winning RB7 F1 car to the ultimate test in an epic off-track road trip across his native Australia. Oracle Red Bull Racing sent the F1 star down under to master the uniquely Aussie conditions, from the beaches to the outback, ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo is excited to get back in front of a home crowd at Albert Park. “Aussie fans always bring a lot of energy and I’m excited to see the F1 fans in Melbourne,” he said. “The track is looking great, and I’m hoping our road trip research gives the team the edge they need,” Ricciardo continued.
In the new clip released today on Oracle Red Bull Racing YouTube, motorsports fans can watch Ricciardo drive the championship winning RB7 through iconic Australian locations, from Broken Hill to Sea Cliff Bridge, all the way to the home of Australian Supercars in Bathurst, making some stops at famous locations along the way.
The team invited local racing experts, Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, off-road racers Toby Price and Daniel Sanders, and aerobatic pilot, Matt Hall, to help Ricciardo test the car under Australia’s toughest conditions.
Red Bull Racing Road Trips have crisscrossed the globe from the USA to the Netherlands, South Africa, the Czech Republic, and now down under to Australia, with Daniel’s home-coming trip taking place ahead of his first Australian Grand Prix since rejoining the team last year.
“After my first Red Bull Racing Road Trip in San Francisco, I’ve always wanted the opportunity to do this in Australia,” Ricciardo said.
“To be back home, taking the RB7 across the Aussie outback, and sharing the best Australia has to offer with the world; what better way to celebrate my first F1 event at home since returning to Oracle Red Bull Racing,” he added.
Ricciardo’s road trip begins in the Wild West, before heading to a cattle station in the outback, where he is met by Daniel Sanders for a quick tutorial on navigating the famous Aussie bull dust. A quick pitstop in the outback city of Broken Hill, before Ricciardo meets aerobatic pilot, Matt Hall at the Sea Cliff Bridge for a true-blue test of handling corners.
“There’s nothing that compares to the Aussie conditions; we had a lot of fun ripping through the outback and tearing across the Sea Cliff Bridge,” Ricciardo said.
Ricciardo then meets motorsports legend, Toby Price, in the Queensland countryside for an obstacle course. Toby’s mega Trophy Truck and Ricciardo’s RB7 drift and swerve through tractors, harvesters, bush chooks, Skippy and even a drop bear.
The Road Trip makes its final stop at Australia’s most famous racetrack – Mount Panorama – where Shane van Gisbergen leads the RB7 around the track in his Red Bull Ampol Camaro, giving the dominant F1 car a taste of Australia’s most treacherous circuit.
The Oracle Red Bull Racing team will compete at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix from 30 March to the 2 April 2023.