Daniel Ricciardo, an Australian Formula 1 driver, has faced some challenges at the start of the 2024 racing season. He hasn’t felt as comfortable driving the VCARB 01 car as his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.
Some people even thought Ricciardo might lose his spot on the team if he didn’t improve by the summer break. But recently, he’s been doing better in races, especially since getting a new chassis in China.
Red Bull (RB), Ricciardo’s team, wants everyone to know they still believe in him. Laurent Mekies, the team principal, is sure Ricciardo can do great things.
Mekies said, “Yeah, absolutely. It’s the DNA of our job to try to identify what car set-up is needed for both the car and the drivers to perform at their best, and that is what we are doing with both our drivers. We have seen a strong growth from Yuki and we are seeing a Daniel getting back on his trajectory.”
Ricciardo hasn’t scored any points this year, but Mekies thinks that’s mostly because of bad luck. Ricciardo’s progress has been clear since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but some unexpected things, like crashing out early in Japan and getting hit by another driver in China, have held him back.
Mekies said, “Already in Saudi, we were starting to say that we were seeing stuff that made us understand how to support him better. So yeah, the trajectory is good. We have not reached the finish line there and we have a few things mid-term coming to help him feel better in the car and to make sure that our car suits his driving style the best. But certainly, it will be a good confidence boost to see that there is tangible progress like we saw over [the China] weekend.”
Even though Ricciardo has faced criticism, Mekies says he’s been focused and determined. The team is working hard to help him improve and get better results.
