Telling signs from Helmut Marko and Christian Horner at Hungarian GP have fans convinced Daniel Ricciardo will take over from Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Two grid interactions right before the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix have F1 fans convinced Daniel Ricciardo’s return to driving for Red Bull is imminent.

In scenes which lit up social media, many supporters speculated the Aussie will be driving alongside series leader Max Verstappen next season after seeing him greeted by two of the team’s top brass.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko and team boss Christian Horner both passed on their well-wishes to Ricciardo as he waited on the grid for the race to begin before finishing 13th in his debut drive for AlphaTauri.

Sergio Perez finished third behind Verstappen despite the team’s car completely outclassing the rest of the field, and scores of fans feel he is on borrowed time at Red Bull.

‘Lmao they want him in that RB so bad they don’t even hide it. Proper favourite child behaviour,’ one fan posted on Reddit after seeing Marko and Horner taking time out to visit Ricciardo.

Another posted on Twitter: ‘RIP Perez in the second seat.’

Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko (pictured right, circled) sent F1 fans into a frenzy after wishing Daniel Ricciardo luck ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner (circled, right) also passed on his best wishes to Ricciardo in Hungary

Marko was impressed at Ricciardo’s drive at Hungaroring, especially given he was trailing the entire field after a collision early in the race.

His happy greeting for the Aussie was unusual for the famously grouchy head of Red Bull’s driver development program.  

Ricciardo also finished ahead of AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who eventually crossed the line in 15th.

‘It was a very confident and mature performance,’ Marko told Sky Sports Germany.

‘He [Ricciardo] lost three or four places because of the collision [with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu] after the start. Thirteenth place is fine.

‘But it’s also the positive momentum he brought to the team and a stabilisation of the technical statements and changes – the driver change has worked out perfectly.’

Perth-born Ricciardo recently replaced Dutchman Nyck de Vries, who was axed after failing to register a point from 10 races.

The Aussie was relatively happy with his own performance, but knows top 10 finishes with AlphaTauri – who are owned by Red Bull – will be difficult.

Daniel Ricciardo recovered from a slow start to finish 13th at the Hungarian Grand Prix 

The Australian returned to the sport earlier this month after signing a short-term contract with AlphaTauri to replace Nyck De Vries

Ricciardo (pictured in action in Hungary) next returns to the gird on July 30 for the Belgium GP

He is ‘feeling energised’ following his stint as a reserve, after he was replaced in the off-season at McLaren by fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri.

‘I really feel that just having this half a year off, even if it wasn’t the full year I expected, certainly made me reset myself and I feel energised again,’ Ricciardo said.

‘For sure there’s nerves, there’s excitement, there’s lots of these things, but sometimes we probably forget to remind ourselves to take it in and just smile at the moment.

‘I was just trying to enjoy and of course, you still make sure you stay focused, but just enjoy it.’

Ricciardo next returns to the gird on July 30 for the Belgium Grand Prix.