Daniel Ricciardo is currently enjoying some downtime in his hometown of Floreat in Western Australia. 

And on Thursday, the Formula One star, 34, was all smiles as he was spotted at a popular breakfast spot, Cup & Co Cafe. 

In a picture shared to restaurant’s Instagram, Ricciardo looked pleased as punch as he posed alongside staff at the popular noshery in a basic black tee. 

‘Introducing our newest team member, Daniel. Will his speed on the tracks help him on the coffee machine?’ the company wrote alongside the post

The popular driver’s relaxing visit in Perth comes after his boss revealed Red Bull tried to block the move that revived the Aussie’s dying F1 career.

Daniel Ricciardo is currently enjoying some downtime in his hometown of Floreat in Western Australia. Pictured 

In a picture shared to restaurant’s Instagram, Ricciardo looked pleased as punch as he posed alongside staff at the popular noshery in a basic black tee. ‘Introducing our newest team member, Daniel. Will his speed on the tracks help him on the coffee machine?’ the café wrote alongside the post 

Peter Bayer, the CEO of AlphaTauri, said the energy drink brand originally refused to allow him to sign Daniel as a replacement for Nyck de Vries.

Daniel joined McLaren at the start of 2021 after two difficult years with Renault, but parted ways with the Woking team in November, 12 months earlier than planned, following two unsuccessful seasons.

Replaced by Oscar Piastri at McLaren, Daniel returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver after failing to secure a seat for the 2023 season.

Daniel eventually returned the grid last July, replacing Nyck De Vries at AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team.

He recorded the team’s best finish of the season at the Mexican GP and AlphaTauri have decided to stick with the partnership of the Aussie and Yuki Tsunoda for the 2024 season.

However, AlphaTauri chief executive Peter revealed Daniel’s comeback was initially blocked by Red Bull.

Peter Bayer, the CEO of AlphaTauri, said the energy drink brand originally refused to allow him to sign Daniel as a replacement for Nyck de Vries

Peter explained Red Bull boss Christian Horner wasn’t overly keen on the idea, while the team’s senior advisor Helmut Marko was interested in the move. 

‘Originally it was said, “No, Daniel is a reserve driver at Red Bull and it stays that way,”‘ Peter told German publication Motorsport Magazin.

‘And then over the course of a month we actually kept asking how things were going. At some point Christian Horner came to us and said, “We’re doing the test at Silverstone. Maybe we’ll take a look at it.”

‘Then Helmut said, “Yes, why not?”‘