Daniel Ricciardo recently opened up about his Formula 1 journey and future prospects, capturing the attention of fans worldwide. Here’s what you need to know:
- Ricciardo admits he didn’t expect to race in F1 again after leaving McLaren in 2022.
- Since returning, he has struggled but shown improvement with the Red Bull junior team.
- Speculation emerged about his replacement by Liam Lawson due to performance issues.
- Ricciardo briefly outperformed expectations, putting him in contention to replace Sergio Perez.
- Red Bull has confirmed that both Ricciardo and Perez will keep their seats as of now.
Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that he never expected to race in Formula 1 again after parting ways with McLaren at the end of the 2022 season. “It’s not like I have an ‘I don’t care’ approach, but my perspective is that all this now is a bonus because I really thought at the end of 2022 maybe I would never race Formula 1 again,” Ricciardo told Motorsport.com.
Since his return to F1 with the Red Bull junior team, Ricciardo’s performance has been inconsistent, scoring points only four times in 22 starts. This raised doubts about his place on the team, especially with the emergence of Liam Lawson as a potential replacement.
Rumors swirled that Ricciardo could be replaced before the 2024 season ended. Helmut Marko, a Red Bull adviser, mentioned that shareholders wanted the team to return to its roots of training young drivers, which added fuel to the speculation. Despite this, Ricciardo managed to score three points finishes in six races between Canada and Belgium, showing signs of his old self.
At one point, Ricciardo even emerged as a serious candidate to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing. However, Red Bull recently confirmed that both Ricciardo and Perez would retain their current seats as the season progresses.
Looking ahead, Ricciardo has a pragmatic view of his situation, saying he is ready for whatever comes his way. “Maybe I’m at a point where it’s just like what will be will be. And I’m just going to put everything I can on the table from an effort and performance [perspective],” he said. Ricciardo emphasized that he can only control his performance on the track and chooses to take things session by session.
In summary, Daniel Ricciardo’s future in Formula 1 hangs in the balance, but he’s adopting a resilient and go-with-the-flow attitude.
Source: Planetf1
