Daniel Ricciardo faces a critical period as his performance lags behind expectations. Red Bull may replace him with Liam Lawson if he doesn’t improve swiftly.
Although the last Grand Prix in China was better for him, Daniel Ricciardo has been disappointing since the start of the year: overshadowed by Yuki Tsunoda, the Australian is also under pressure from Red Bull’s management. The threat of a mid-season replacement by Liam Lawson is very real.
Speaking to ESPN, the RB F1 driver admitted during the presentation of his car’s livery for Miami tonight that his start to the year was not stellar. But Ricciardo tries not to pay too much attention to the criticisms.
“I’m sure a lot of people, my fans, F1 fans, whoever, have said: ‘Damn Daniel, pull your finger out, what are you doing?'”
“I tend not to read articles about myself. Generally, I’m not much of a reader, but inevitably, you come across things. I participate in a few races and suddenly, you hear that Daniel is back or that he’s in the running for this or that [a Red Bull seat].”
“Carlos Sainz was excellent in Melbourne, he came back after his surgery and won the race—an incredible victory, he was fantastic. But it only takes one win for people to say ‘oh, he’s the best on the grid’ or something else… Then, if Charles beats him for a few races, those same people will say ‘oh, that was just a one-off performance, Carlos isn’t all that,’ you see what I mean? That’s how it is.”
“I know that if I were about to have one or two great weekends, suddenly people would say Daniel is back. Things can change so quickly.”
“But you can’t be caught off guard. If you read everything, if you’re not strong-minded enough, you start to doubt yourself… Am I past it, am I a bit washed up? Whatever.”
“I know that if I were reading something right now, it wouldn’t be ‘Daniel is on fire this year.’ It’s clear that on paper, that’s not the case. But do I feel like I have the capability to be on fire and have a good race? Absolutely.”
“Even if I was doing well, there would always be someone to say that I’m finished, or that I’m only good because Yuki isn’t performing well, or whatever else.”
However, it’s clear that Red Bull will not wait indefinitely for Daniel Ricciardo to awaken… and he knows it himself.
“I don’t want to still be in Monaco [at the end of May] telling myself ‘yes, it’s going to happen this weekend.'”
“I only care about what Christian, Helmut [Marko], Laurent [Mekies], and a few others think in the paddock.”
“Their opinions are what matter. They are the only people who have all the data, all the information to know whether I’m up to par or not. They alone know the answer in black and white.”
“I know that if I talk to Helmut after a bad race, he will tell me ‘get your act together,’ so I know what’s expected of me.”
Ricciardo, a hugely popular figure even in the USA
And even if he’s not performing on the track, Daniel Ricciardo remains a very popular driver – including in the USA, where he has become a recognized face.
“Probably since the Netflix series and the sport’s popularity, it feels much more mainstream, much more open to other opinions, and probably a bit of the nonsense that comes with it.”
“I think at first in the USA, it was ‘oh my god, an F1 driver.’ Now, it’s ‘oh, an F1 driver, he did this, he did that’, there’s less of a shock effect. It’s more ‘hey, I know you,’ ‘great race last week,’ and ‘we’ve been following you since your first year.’ There’s probably a bit more depth in the fervor of American fans, unlike a few years ago, when people just saw you on TV.”
“I love how the sport has developed in the United States. I love how America does sport. If I had a second life, I’d like to go to college, play football, and do as the Americans do. The fact that we’re getting a bit of the United States now gives me a bit of that, something I would have liked to experience in another life!”
Ricciardo on Notice: ‘Get Moving’ or Risk Replacement by Lawson. Ricciardo on Notice: ‘Get Moving’ or Risk Replacement by Lawson. F1 2024 Ricciardo on Notice: ‘Get Moving’
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