Red Bull chief Christian Horner has aimed a dig at McLaren CEO Zak Brown when asked about Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo is at the Australian Grand Prix, his home race, as Red Bull's third driver after McLaren terminated his deal a year early following two disappointing seasons. And Horner could not resist taking a shot at McLaren and Brown, who notably accused Red Bull of "cheating" after they were found to have breached 2021 budget cap rules.
And while sat next to Brown at a press conference ahead of the race in Melbourne, Horner quipped: "We had to feed him up, I don't know what you guys did to him! He looked skinny.
"He looks healthier now. He's training hard and ready to go, given a chance. He's 10 minutes away from being ready. He's in good shape, he has kept fit and well."
Horner also claimed Ricciardo had picked up some bad habits while at McLaren driving a "car that has its limitations". However, he is confident the Australian is getting back to his best, praising the way the 33-year-old has "hit the ground running" since returning to Red Bull.
"When you drive a car that has its limitations, you adapt and adjust to extract the maximum out of the car," he added.
"It was clear when he came back that he had picked up some habits that we didn't recognise from the Daniel that left us years earlier.
"He's had a chance to re-set, got into the 2023 work, he's hit the ground running and he likes the feel of the car in the virtual world, which correlates well with what we're seeing i the actual world.
"He's desperate for a run in the car to validate that. He's getting back to being the Daniel we know."
