After Villeneuve’s sharp critique, Ricciardo’s performance on the track might just be the perfect rebuttal.
Ricciardo’s retort to Villeneuve’s criticism. Sharply criticized by the 1997 World Champion before the Canadian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo responded on the track.
5th in qualifying, 8th in the race, the RB F1 driver outperformed his teammate Yuki Tsunoda – who has otherwise dominated him since the start of the year.
In truth, it even seems that the Canal + consultant’s remarks further motivated the Honey Badger! As if he was determined to prove him wrong!
“I raced with a bit of pride in me!”
“It’s a good thing because it’s the first weekend I’ve done well from start to finish.”
“It’s good to be competitive from Friday to Sunday. And a race like this one, it’s so tough, mentally everything is exhausting, so you can’t expect to run a perfect race when it’s like this.”
“But I feel like in all these conditions, we managed to achieve a result despite some difficulties along the way. So yes, I’m happy. Just need to keep going.”
“And I think that little energy, probably a bit inside me, that I brought into the weekend, I need to make sure it stays there and just keep this level of intensity.”
“Sometimes, I don’t know if it’s because I’m a bit angry or because I’m boosting my testosterone, but I think it helps me.”
The question, however, is whether Daniel Ricciardo can indeed maintain this level of performance. So far, he has been very inconsistent, and this has forced Helmut Marko to publicly discuss his replacement next year.
“I just have to keep riding like this,” admits Daniel Ricciardo.
“There’s certainly hope that this could be a turning point. Obviously, I need to repeat it and support it to prove it.”
“But I’m really pleased with some things I’ve recognized since Monaco, and it’s no coincidence that this weekend went a bit smoother. It’s just about making sure we continue to use it, that I don’t relax too much and that I don’t get too happy. I need to make sure to keep my cool.”
“It’s a good thing. I also think these weekends are sometimes the toughest, especially when things aren’t going very well or you’re lacking momentum.”
If he were to address Villeneuve directly, what message would Daniel Ricciardo send…?
“We needed it, of course I needed it. I won’t say anything else to anyone else! It’s fine, we’ll say nothing. I’m happy.”
A race that started in the worst way…
However, it almost slipped through Daniel Ricciardo’s fingers. At the start of the race, he skidded, then received a five-second penalty for a ‘jump start’.
“I felt like the race was slipping away from us. The start itself, we were at ‘drift city’, so I lost a few positions. By the second turn, I remember Lewis [Hamilton] literally passing me.”
“I knew I hadn’t beaten the green lights, but I remember the car moving very slightly as I looked at the lights, so I guess we probably had a clutch issue.”
“When the rain started, we pitted to switch to intermediates and others stayed out, which made us lose places. So, I felt like the race was slipping away, but with the slick at the end, we managed to overtake a few cars and score a nice bunch of points.”
“We’re obviously going to continue trying to improve, but we came away with some points. Overall, it was a pretty good weekend from start to finish, and I’m not going to complain – it was really a good weekend.”
Villeneuve’s Critique Spurs Ricciardo’s Comeback?. Villeneuve’s Critique Spurs Ricciardo’s Comeback?
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