Red Bull decided to keep Daniel Ricciardo on their team for the 2024 season instead of choosing Liam Lawson. Lawson had performed well when he substituted for Ricciardo in five races last season while Ricciardo was injured.
However, in the first races of this year, Ricciardo hasn’t performed as well as his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda has made it to the Q3 session twice and finished eighth in Melbourne in the last race. In contrast, Ricciardo has struggled to match Tsunoda’s pace. He started the race in Melbourne from the 18th position due to a penalty for going beyond track limits. His finishing positions in the first three races were 13th, 16th, and 12th.
Some reports in the media have suggested that Helmut Marko, an advisor at Red Bull, has given Ricciardo two more races to prove himself, or else he might lose his seat to Lawson. However, Marko has denied these rumors.
Ricciardo himself says he’s not paying attention to these rumors. He believes that focusing on his performance is more important than listening to outside noise. He wants to stay on track and not let negative thoughts distract him.
He admits that he expected to start the 2024 season better, especially after gaining momentum towards the end of last year. Despite the disappointing results, he feels good behind the wheel and remains hopeful for improvement.
Ricciardo finds some positives in the Melbourne race, despite finishing behind Tsunoda. He believes there were encouraging moments and plans to keep working with the team to improve.
He hopes that future updates to the car will make him feel more comfortable and competitive. Ricciardo trusts in the team’s ability to turn things around quickly and is optimistic about the races ahead.
Also read: Ricciardo Confounded by Inability to Match Tsunoda Despite Setting “Best” Lap of F1 2024
