Formula One fans have given West Australian favourite Daniel Ricciardo a warm welcome back to Albert Park.

Ricciardo will make his first on-track appearance at the Australian Grand Prix since 2022 on Friday, and his fans made sure they were there to show him the love.

One fan sported a hand-written sign saying they had flown over from Perth to be there, while another said they had travelled more than 17,000kms to see Ricciardo’s infamous “smile”.

Another supporter boldly proclaimed she had a tattoo of the Formula 1 veteran.

Ricciardo will get his first look at the renewed Melbourne circuit in Practise 1 racing with Visa CashApp RB, which is the sister team to reigning world champions, Red Bull.

The fan favourite missed last year’s event after being unceremoniously axed by McLaren for fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri.

However, after half a season as a reserve driver at Red Bull in 2023, Ricciardo was thrown into then AlphaTauri to attempt to resurrect their season after a dreadful start from Dutchman Nyck De Vries.

The West Australian made a promising start before a wrist injury suffered at Zandvoort cost him five rounds.

He has made a slow start to 2024, yet to gain a point from the first two Grand Prix.

However, he has plenty of motivation with Red Bull potentially considering a driver change as Sergio Perez comes out of contract at the end of the season.

Ricciardo will also be lining up with another Aussie at Albert Park for the first time since Mark Webber in 2013, with Piastri hoping to compete for a top-five finish in his second home race with McLaren.