Ricciardo will debut 💮alongside Tsunoda for AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team, at this weekend’s F1 Hungarian Grand Pꦦrix as a replacement for the sacked Nyck de Vries.

The veteran Australian’s eventu♛al goal is to earn a Red Bull seat - but his newest teammate also shares that ambition.

“It’ll be clear soon, but either driver will be slower and the slower guy ꧋won’t make it to Red Bull,” Tsunoda said in Budapest. 

“That’s easꦺy, the faster guy has more chance to go to Red Bull, it’s how it works in Formula1, that’s it.”

Tsunoda has scored AlphaTauri’s only two points of a disappointing season so far. De Vries di☂dn’t manage a single po🍨int in his 10 races, and the team sit at the bottom of the constructors’ championship.

Ricciardo’s high-profile ar🐟rival may n💧ow pile the pressure onto Tsunoda.

“It’s a ꦍchallenge always,” the Japanese driver said. “In the end it doesn’t make muc🍸h difference, Daniel or Nyck, whatever. 

“Anyway I have to do the same thing I was doing to Nyck, you need to beat your 𒁃team mate, that’s the most important thing.

“Daniel is not an easy driver to beat, but at the same time I’ll do what I did in the last couple of races and🌄 it’s clear the fasterಌ guy will stay or go up, that’s it.”

Tsunoda has his best chance yet to pr♒ove his own met𓄧tle if he can edge the more experienced Ricciardo over the rest of this season.

“Yeah I think it’s positive, Nyck came as a rookie and everyone expected me to 🍷beat him,” Tsunoda said. 

“That’s the normal thing. Daniel won multiple graܫnds prix and has experience already in this year’s cars, McLaren. 

“I think it’s good for me, but like you say, highly rated, so if I beat him, everyone starts to recognise more than a couple of preꦯvious races. 

“But it’s not easy, he’s good, I know he’s good, and once ꦚhe has confidence in the car I’m sure he will perform like Red Bull. In that♔ case I can learn still, what he’s doing, why he’s able to achieve good results in the past, I can tell from the data, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The news of Ricciardo’s comeback arrived during a tyre test driving a Red Bull after a series of phone calls between Christian H🦩orner and Helmut Marko.

“I was doing the simulator on that day,𓂃 🐬in Red Bull. Christian just told me just before the news, actually we met by coincidence in the factory, and he told me then,” Tsunoda explained. 

“I didn’t know until on that day there were te🌞am releases.

“There were rumours already. I was like, not really surprised, but yeah, s💧till surprised when I heard. It was quick.”

Tsunoda was asked if ex-teammate De Vries should have received more than just 10 grands prix to prove ꦡhimself.

“I think so,” he answered. “I think just 10 races, especially a couple of tracks he didn’t know. I ꦐthink so. 

“But at the same time, I kn𒉰ow what Red Bull’s side is saying. But at the same time, yeah, I think he deserved at least until the summer break𒉰. I was thinking at least that way.”