F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Hopeful Of Elevating Performance To Impress Red Bull - "We’ll Fix It"
VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo hopes to elevate his performance after an undesirable start to the 2024 season. Looking to secure a Red Bull seat in the future, the 'Honey Badger' is confident of turning things around "quickly".
Key Takeaways:
- Daniel Ricciardo aims to improve his performance in the 2024 season to secure a future Red Bull seat, expressing confidence in a quick turnaround.
- Despite his aspirations, Ricciardo faces challenges, with teammate Yuki Tsunoda out-qualifying him in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, potentially making him a stronger contender for the Red Bull seat.
- Ricciardo's disappointing performance in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing 16th and experiencing a spin, raises concerns, but he remains optimistic, citing improvements and a strong showing expected at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.
Last year, Ricciardo reclaimed his full-time Formula 1 seat with dreams of retiring from the sport after racing for Red Bull again someday. However, his sluggish start to the current season could jeopardize his prospects with the team later in the year, especially with Sergio Perez's contract set to expire after the current season.
His VCARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda's better start to the 2024 season, where he out-qualified Ricciardo in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, makes him more worthy of a Red Bull seat. Though Ricciardo finished ahead of Tsunoda in Bahrain due to team orders, his disappointing performance in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing 16th from 14th on the grid with the inclusion of a spin mid-race has raised concerns.
Nonetheless, the Australian driver remains optimistic, emphasizing that he and his team are aware of the necessary changes for him to bounce back during the Australian Grand Prix weekend between the 22nd and 24th of March.
Take part in the latest poll
Expressing the situation to Formula1.com, Ricciardo said:
“Tough weekend [Saudi Arabian GP].
“I think the only thing that’s probably keeping me a little bit optimistic now is we did find a few things, so that’s positive.
“Because I’ve driven a long time, I know when things don’t feel quite right, but on the one hand, it’s nice to find a few things, but on another, it meant that it was a pretty painful weekend, so that’s obviously frustrating.
“The race was tough. I think coming into it we knew it would be tough, then we had a slow pit stop and then a few laps from the end I ate a bit too much kerb in Turn 1 and had a spin, that kind of summed up the weekend.
“But we’ve got a week off now, so Melbourne will be better. I know we’ll fix it and have an even playing field and a strong showing.
“It feels like it’s been a pretty slow start to the year. But it’s been two races. I know how quickly this thing can turn around.
“As I said, there’s not too much head scratching now. It was just a frustrating weekend. But it’s not that we don’t have answers. I think it’s quite clear.
“So we’ve just got to polish her up and make sure it’s good to go for Melbourne.”