Daniel Ricciardo could still be in contention for a fairytale Red Bull Racing return despite his poor form.
The Aussie races for sister team RB and came into the season as the top candidate to potentially replace Sergio Perez at the end of the year. However, his case has taken a beating in these opening weeks of the campaign.
Ricciardo has yet to score a single point. More pertinently, his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has looked to be comfortably faster, raising questions over whether the 34-year-old still has what it takes to compete at the top level.
Mirror Sport understands claims of an ‘ultimatum’ given to Ricciardo, that he will be replaced after two more races if he does not improve, are untrue. But there is no doubt that Red Bull chiefs will want to see improvements in the coming weeks.
Despite his struggles, according to F1.com, it is suggested that Ricciardo remains a contender for that Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen next year. But that will only be if he can turn his form around.
The report reads: They are also interested in bringing Daniel Ricciardo into the seat at some point, providing he performs at RB. Sources say this was the intention from the moment they put him in the Red Bull at the Silverstone tyre test last year and then placed him at AlphaTauri in place of Nyck de Vries.
Despite the Australian’s tough start to 2024, Red Bull want to give him more time to shine. Red Bull super adviser Helmut Marko has also denied the claims that he has issued an ultimatum to Ricciardo regarding his performances.
Though the 34-year-old knows he needs to improve, he insists he has been giving no thought to the negativity around him at the moment. I came into this weekend, really, honestly, deep down believing like we were going to have a very, very good weekend, he said after last Sunday’s Melbourne race.
In terms of the noise, people tell me like in the media, they’re like, ‘Oh, so and so said’ – it’s the first I’ve heard. It’s obviously no disrespect, but I know that I’m on this little kind of process or journey at the moment. And I just need to focus on myself. And I think if I let any of the noise in, it’s going to kind of distract me from the path I’m on. I haven’t let any of that negative stuff creep in.
I think the important thing is that I stay on course. It’s not that my head is filled with nonsense or anything. I honestly feel good. Unfortunately, the results haven’t made me feel awesome. But deep down behind the wheel, I do feel good and excited and just want to keep racing. And I’m sure I’ll find a bit more in myself, and I still believe maybe we’ll find a little something on the car.
