Daniel Ricciardo isn’t hiding his frustration as he trails behind Yuki Tsunoda in the standings. Despite Red Bull’s confidence in their current driver lineup, Ricciardo admits he wants better consistency.
With Tsunoda leading in crucial metrics—he’s up 19 points to 5 in the Drivers’ standings, 7-1 in qualifying head-to-heads, and 6-1 in race finishes—Ricciardo’s struggles have sparked rumors about a potential mid-season replacement by Liam Lawson. However, this has been denied by both the team and Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.
CEO Peter Bayer recently commented, ‘Currently we have two drivers in the cars. We are finding performance with the two. And we really do not discuss the 2025 situation.’ But come summer break, discussions about the next year’s lineup will inevitably start.
Ricciardo has six more races to prove he’s worth another season with Red Bull or potentially even a spot with the main team. He admitted to the media, ‘I haven’t really given it too much thought. That’s great to hear, and yes, that would be awesome, but I want to be doing better consistently. The gap [to Tsunoda], maybe we do find something that explains why I lost a bit here or there. There’ll probably always be something. This is F1 and it’s never perfect. I’m not happy with having these gaps. I think that’s what’s frustrating me a bit.’
He appreciated the team’s support but acknowledged the struggle, ‘The team has been great and they’ve been really supportive and they know I can do it but it’s been a bit more of a struggle this year to do it week in, week out. That’s really where my focus is now as opposed to getting too comfortable or excited about what the future holds. I want to be doing better, whether that’s the car or me, just I want to be doing better.’
Laurent Mekies, an RB boss, highlighted Ricciardo’s broader contributions to the team, stating, ‘In the context of the projects, where the team needs to go and helping identify the gaps, it hugely helps to have somebody like Daniel that won eight races, has been at a few teams and knows where the board can be and where the board needs to go. So his input into the team has been massive. So even when in the first couple of races the performance was in the uncomfortable zone, you were still bringing a massive amount of value to the team.’ Mekies also noted, ‘We’ve been seeing very strong progress, some of that has been hidden to you guys.’
Ricciardo’s future may be uncertain, but his determination to improve is clear. Red Bull’s faith in him extends beyond mere statistics, recognizing his invaluable experience and insights, which could sway decisions as F1 2025 discussions heat up.
Source: Planetf1
