Ricciardo attended wedding - not AlphaTauri HQ - as rumours shut down

Although Red Bull’s top brass are believed to be “frustrated and underwhelmed” with de Vries’ form amid a difficult start to his first full F1 season, “no conversations have taken place” about Ricciardo potentially replacing him, according to ESPN sources. 

Speculation that Ricciardo was being lined up to take the under-pressure Dutchman’s seat was fuelled by rumours that the Australian had visited AlphaTauri’s factory in Italy this week to have a seat fitting. 

Sources informed ESPN that Ricciardo did not visit Faenza after carrying out his reserve duties for Red Bull at the Miami Grand Prix and instead attended the wedding of close friends Scotty James and Chloe Stroll. 

James is an Australian Olympic snowboarder and Stroll is the daughter of Aston Martin owner Lawrence and sister of F1 driver Lance. 

ESPN report that Ricciardo did complete a behind-closed-doors seat fitting for AlphaTauri ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, but this was because AlphaTauri’s official reserve driver, Liam Lawson, was not in Miami. 

Lawson, who is racing in Super Formula, would be the lead candidate to replace de Vries in the event the Formula E and Formula 2 champion was dropped.

While Ricciardo is targeting a full-time return to the F1 grid in 2024, he has previously stressed he would only want to do so with a front-running team.