Update 14:30 | Marko retracts statement: Ricciardo not confirmed (yet)

Rumours had been circulating for some time that Ricciardo would return to Red Bull. The Australian will lose his seat at McLaren to Oscar Piastri after this season but he immediately stressed that it would not be the end of the story for him. Ricciardo long referred to "a secret plan" to return to the top of the sport. It soon became clear that he was referring to a reserve role at either Mercedes or Red Bull.

So now Marko confirms that Red Bull has recruited Ricciardo as a reserve driver behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. An official announcement from the team is still some time away. Ricciardo no doubt hopes to regain a permanent place in the team if Perez's contract expires or if the Mexican's results prove disappointing.

Ricciardo returns after four years

Ricciardo made his debut with Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in 2012 and made his promotion to Red Bull Racing in 2014 as Mark Webber's replacement. From 2016, he drove there alongside Verstappen and was able to duel nicely with the Dutchman. In 2018, Ricciardo announced he was leaving the team at the end of that season after growing frustration with his role in the team. So, after two years at Renault and two years at McLaren, Ricciardo will now return to the Red Bull organisation.

Although his two years at McLaren have not been the most successful period of his career, Ricciardo will leave the team with a remarkable record to his name: he is the only driver to have managed to win a race for McLaren in the last 10 years.

Helmut Marko has confirmed to @skysportformel1 that Ricciardo will be 3rd driver next year at Red Bull. Contract with Sergio Perez runs until 2024.#AbuDhabiGP #AMuS

— Tobi Grüner (@tgruener) November 18, 2022

Update 14:30 | Marko retracts statement

At ServusTV, Marko has retracted his statement regarding the confirmation of Ricciardo as the third driver. Besides Marko's confirmation, further confirmation from the team or from the Australian himself remained outstanding in the hours that followed. It is possible that the Red Bull advisor ran his mouth and put out the confirmation too early. There are now two possibilities; either Marko has been taken to task for talking too soon and ordered to retract his statement, or the deal with Ricciardo is not complete at all.