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Formula One's 'silly season' is revving up
Daniel Ricciardo Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Formula One's 'silly season' is revving up

By Alyssa Clang  |  Last updated May 12, 2023 3:12 PM ET

Formula One is a sport full of traditions, from grid walks and Orlinski trophies to Singapore evenings and the Wall of Champions.

One of the most time-honored F1 traditions of all is the "silly season" — the period on the F1 calendar when fans and writers speculate about which driver might move where for the following season.

With just 20 seats available on the F1 grid for dozens of talented drivers, the "silly season" can feel like one massive game of musical chairs. Last year, when four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement and freed a seat at Aston Martin, he kicked off a wild chain of events that saw Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries and Oscar Piastri swap places for 2023.

The big loser of last year's "silly season" was "Drive to Survive" favorite Daniel Ricciardo, who lost his seat at McLaren to Piastri. Ricciardo couldn't secure a seat at another team and is currently serving as Red Bull's reserve driver, a humbling and unfortunate role for a fan favorite and proven winner.

This week Ricciardo was spotted at the headquarters of Red Bull sister team Alpha Tauri, and more importantly, he was spotted being fitted for a seat in the team's race car.

That could be bad news for Alpha Tauri driver and F1 rookie de Vries. After a rough start to his maiden F1 season, the 28-year-old Dutch driver may find himself replaced before he has a chance to turn things around.

Will Ricciardo be the man to replace him?

The answer is almost certainly no. Ricciardo's seat fitting at Alpha Tauri was expected and scheduled as part of his Red Bull contract. It had nothing to do with his role as a potential de Vries replacement.

Plus, Alpha Tauri is known as a "rookie" team. Its specialty lies in bringing junior drivers to F1 and grooming them for seats at bigger teams. Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Gasly all got their F1 debuts at Alpha Tauri.

While the 33-year-old Ricciardo is certainly talented, he doesn't fit the Alpha Tauri profile.

There are plenty of rookie drivers in other series who do. Liam Lawson, Ayumu Iwasa and Enzo Fittipaldi are all in the Red Bull system and gunning for de Vries's seat. With a tripleheader of European tracks (Imola, Monaco and Barcelona) on the horizon, if de Vries doesn't improve, he may yet find himself ousted before the season ends.

As for Ricciardo, he's expected to see out 2023 with Red Bull, stepping in if drivers become ill and participating in media events. It's no Formula One seat, but it's not a bad gig if you can get it.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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