Ricciardo reveals Alonso chat to allay F1 fears

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed how a chat with Fernando Alonsoallayed his fears over taking a break from racing in Formula 1. TheAustralian replaced the under-performing Nyck de Vries atAlphaTauri for the rest of the season ahead of the Hungarian GrandPrix having fallen off the grid after a poor two-year spell withMcLaren ended with him losing his seat to Oscar Piastri for 2023.He qualified and finished 13th, having suffered damage at the firstturn when rammed from behind by Zhou Guanyu. The eight-time GrandPrix winner felt "energised" after his return - and detailed aconversation with Aston Martin's Alonso who left F1 at the end of2018 having grown disillusioned with Grand Prix racing. Alonsowould return in 2021 having raced in the World EnduranceChampionship, the Indy 500 and Dakar Rally during his time away.Ricciardo and Alonso "I really feel that just having this half ayear off, even if it wasn't the full year I expected, certainlymade me reset myself and I feel energised again," Ricciardo toldmedia including RacingNews365. "I remember having a conversationwith Fernando maybe two years ago now, [but] I wasn't thinking oftaking a break. "We were just having a chat, I think on a flightsomewhere, and he said the break for him was one of the best thingshe ever did. "That kind of got me thinking maybe if I ever feel Ineed it, not to be too scared of it. Then seeing the year he's had,that also filled me with some confidence." Ricciardo - who beat newteammate Yuki Tsunoda in the race - also described his emotions atreturning to the grid and how he found a balance in the run-up tothe race start. "For sure there's nerves, there's excitement,there's lots of these things, but sometimes we probably forget toremind ourselves to take it in and just smile at the moment," heexplained. "I was just trying to enjoy and of course, you stillmake sure you stay focused but just enjoy it."