For a man handed a lifeline in Formula One – with an illustrious Red Bull-shaped reward beckoning down the line – it has not quite been the statement return Daniel Ricciardo envisaged back in July. What did that look like? Top-10 finishes with AlphaTauri, perhaps with a memorable overtake or two evoking the Ricciardo of old back onto the grid. But it has in fact been the complete opposite: the only return has been his return to inactivity. Two races in and a hand injury sustained in practice in Zandvoort, north Holland, back in August has seen the affable Australian feature only on the sidelines again. A seesaw seven weeks have followed: while on one hand confirmation of a seat on the grid in 2024 was, rather peculiarly, confirmed in his absence in Japan, his deputy Liam Lawson caught the eye with a string of impressive performances, including a team-best result of ninth in Singapore. So as Ricciardo struts back into the paddock this weekend in Austin, the broken bone in his hand healed, the pressure is firmly on the 34-year-old’s shoulders at his home from home. Affection works hand in hand with Ricciardo and the United States: he loves America, Americans love him. Last year, weeks after his McLaren exit was announced, the sport’s most cheerful character arrived at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on horseback, kitted out in full cowboy apparel. Given his injury hiatus, you’d think no such extravagant entries will be repeated this year. But what he has got back in his hands, as opposed to 12 months ago, is his Formula One destiny. Perhaps fortuitously, too. When Ricciardo left Red Bull for pastures new at the end of 2018, his aspiration was that the grass was greener. Now five years on he is back at Christian Horner’s team, first as a reserve and now at the sister team. A second bite alongside Max Verstappen is what he truly craves. And he has made no secret of that. “Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri… he firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat,” said Horner back in July. “That is his goal and objective and, by going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025.” And with talk of Sergio Perez’s seat being under threat at Red Bull amid his struggles, there is a feasible route back to the top-table for Ricciardo. Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has already hinted the Mexican’s future seemingly lies away from Red Bull: most probably in a year, perhaps even as early as before next season. But before heading off any top contenders outside the Red Bull mothership, the Australian first has to prove his worth amid the in-house competition. Given Nyck de Vries’s rapid promotion to a seat after just one race last year, Lawson can feel hard done by that his impressive five-race showing – 13th, 11th, 9th, 11th, 17th – in this year’s slowest car hasn’t landed him a seat in 2024. So Ricciardo needs to better Lawson’s two points in the final five races of this season. He also needs to get the better of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who has earned just three 10th-place finishes in 17 races this year. That is the minimum. But back stateside, it is the on-track magic and overtaking propensity of near-enough 10 years ago which will catapult him into Red Bull’s second seat conversation. That will be the key, as opposed to any off-track endeavours or kind words with sponsors. F1 world champion of 1997, Jacques Villeneuve, is quoted as saying this week: “I would ask kids who want to be drivers today – do you want it out of passion or because you want to be like Daniel Ricciardo, smiling in commercials?” While a tad harsh – best to smile than frown, no? – it does point to a school of thought that Ricciardo’s charisma is now a bigger pull than his talent. For any driver of any age, that is the ultimate insult. All of them are fundamentally in F1 to race, to scrap for every point and to jockey for every position. Even Ricciardo, who has endured the worst two years of his career since his anomaly of a win at Monza in 2021, remains adamant his world-class skillset is still present. His ambitions, so told to The Independentin July, remain the highest of highs: race wins and even a world championship. But Ricciardo must grasp the opportunity simply having a seat in this 20-driver sport gives and it starts with the cut-and-thrust of the sprint weekend at COTA. Nobody is expecting wins or podiums in the slowest car. But what people do expect is progress – and glimpses of the man of yesteryear. Read More What is a sprint race in F1 and how does new qualifying shootout work? What time is qualifying at the US Grand Prix on Friday? Sergio Perez addresses Red Bull future McLaren confirm first female driver in development programme Daniel Ricciardo to make F1 return at US Grand Prix Netflix reveal star line-up for F1 Drive to Survive vs Full Swing golf match

Twitter’s ad revenue in the US has plunged by more than half since Elon Musk took the company over, according to reports. Internal documents show that Twitter made $88 million worth of ad sales between April and May this year, The New York Times reported, marking a 59 per cent drop from the same period last year. Shortly after Mr Musk’s takeover in October 2022, several key sales executives at Twitter where fired, while controversial figures like Donald Trump and Andrew Tate were allowed to return to the platform. Following the sackings and change in policy, several high profile brands confirmed that they would no longer be advertising through Twitter due to concerns with the platform and its leadership. Twitter’s valuation also plunged in the months following the $44 billion takeover deal, with Mr Musk saying in March that the company was worth $20 billion. Investment firm Fidelity has since estimated Twitter to be worth $15 billion. In April, Mr Musk said the firm was “roughly breaking even”, claiming that “almost all advertisers have come back or said they are going to come back”. Last month, Mr Musk announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of Twitter in order to focus on overseeing product, software and sysops as the company’s chief technology officer. His replacement, Linda Yaccarino, appears to have been selected based on her success and connections within the advertising world, having served as an executive for NBCUniversal. Ms Yaccarino and Mr Musk appeared together at a public event earlier this year, giving an indication that her focus will primarily be aimed at developing and improving relationships with advertisers, whose purchases make up the majority of Twitter’s revenue. One potential route to achieving this is by reinstating Twitter’s Influence Council of marketers and advertising executives, which allowed industry figures to give direct feedback on how they wanted the platform to look before it was disbanded. Read More What is superintelligence? How AI could wipe out humanity – and why the boss of ChatGPT is doomsday prepping

George Russell has raised the prospect of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix being cancelled amid poor weather. Heavy rain fell over the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Thursday, with the grizzly weather expected to continue throughout the weekend. Although the forecast is better for Sunday’s Grand Prix, the weather is notoriously difficult to predict in the Ardennes and there is a fear in the paddock that the weekend’s running – which features a sprint race on Saturday – could be heavily disrupted. Indeed, it is understood Formula One are already looking into potential changes to the timetable. The FIA’s decision to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month. The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1. “Obviously to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody, but we don’t want to see another huge incident that we have just seen,” said Russell, 25, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. “The conditions are safe and suitable enough to drive for one Formula One car. But when you have got 20 cars on track at once, anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see 20, 30, 40 metres ahead of them. “We have no visibility whatsoever. To give it some perspective, it is like driving down the motorway in pouring rain, and turning your windscreen wipers off. That is how it feels in the cockpit. “It was only a matter of time before the incident in the FRECA race happened. Drivers do not go flat out on the straight because they cannot see, someone gets rear-ended, and then there is a car in the middle of the track. “I also fear a little bit for the junior categories. I truly think Formula Three should not have 30 cars out there at one time at any point, even in dry conditions. I feel like it is a matter of time before a big incident happens there, too.” In 2021, the race here was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car because of torrential rain, and Mercedes’ Russell continued: “It was the correct decision to call off the race. “The FIA has to be bold with its decisions when it comes to safety and when it comes to visibility. “We want to race, everybody wants to race, but when you go down that straight at over 200mph and you can’t see in front of you, there will be huge incidents, so they have got a big responsibility.” Van ‘t Hoff died following a multiple car pile-up on the exit of the notorious Eau Rouge corner and leading into the Kemmel Straight. In the spray, Van ‘t Hoff was tagged from behind, rebounding off the wall, and into the middle of the circuit where he was hit at high speed by another driver. Frenchman Anthoine Hubert was killed four years ago in an F2 race following a similar incident, albeit in the dry, at a circuit which has now claimed 49 lives. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said: “It is not something I ever think of. As a driver, you can’t let it enter your mind, but you have to trust in what the FIA do. “We wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think it would be safe. They have done such incredible work over the past few decades and I trust them to make the right decisions moving forwards.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice

Calling all Selena Gomez fans…and Only Murders in the Building fans…and gold jewelry fans! Just as Selena’s character, Mabel, uses her detective skills in the Hulu mystery drama, we used our own magnifying glass to spot her iconic necklaces in the latest episode of the new season. And we’re here to tell you that you can buy these gems for yourself, and that they’re on sale right now.

When navigating the exciting (and let’s face it: downright stressful) undertaking that is planning a wedding, your bridesmaids are your support system. From organizing all of the pre-wedding festivities to standing beside you on the big day, this special circle of your nearest and dearest friends, family, and soon-to-be family plays an integral role in preparing for your upcoming nuptials…and keeping you calm and collected along the way. For this reason, it’s custom to show them a token of your appreciation and commemorate your forever bonds with a gift.

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