Judging by expectations Racing Bulls it was supposed to be a team fighting for the top 10. Instead so far it is disappointing. But if Yuki tsunoda in Arabia Daniel managed to get into Q3 Ricciardo continues to lose ground.
Helmut Marko, on his editorial for the site speedweek. com, after the Arabian Grand Prix wrote:
Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo play each other a lot this season. Yuki's performance in qualifying was very good and Ricciardo will have to come up with something as soon as possible.
An important wake-up call especially for Ricciardo, who more than anyone had exposed himself for this start of the season on the ambitions of Racing Bulls.
Ricciardo has never hidden the motivation that drives him to continue in F1: impress Red Bull enough to give him the seat in 2025. The 2024 season couldn't have started in the worst way for him.
If the first opponent is his teammate, the Australian is already losing. In fact, Tsunoda is performing better in these first two rounds. In qualifying it was 2-0 for the Japanese, while in the race Ricciardo finished ahead of him in Bahrain only thanks to a team order which brought the first internal friction to the team.
What went wrong with Ricciardo at the start of the season with Racing Bulls?
Daniel Ricciardo took responsibility for the mistake in Bahrain, not realizing a time that was within reach. In Jeddah, however, he appears to have had car problems. After the race, in fact, he declared that he had found defects that do not make the VCARB01 100%:
For example, as far as production efficiency and everything else, there were some things that didn't add up. In Bahrain I knew that the problem was mostly mine, but when the level drops and the others continue to improve, it's also a bit of a sign. I felt that was the limit of the car. We later found a few things. But then there's parc fermé, although to be honest, even if we hadn't had parc fermé, we probably couldn't have resolved anything in 24 hours. So I'm sure some things will go back to the factory and we'll come back with a new car to Melbourne."
Furthermore, at the end, a spin it definitively compromised the race. A mistake that came out of frustration, which however at his level and with these ambitions he cannot afford. Especially since his teammate isn't having any problems.
The risk that it returns in black hole like in his years in McLaren – where Lando Norris excelled alongside him – is more real than ever.
It's frustrating to be so far behind, the frustration that comes with it and the fact that we're 14th when we're obviously fighting for points doesn't help. Ok, in the first race I made some mistakes so I was frustrated with myself, but I'm confident with the lap time I did. Right now I'm not confident with the car we had, where we could get it the time, so that's really all that's on my mind right now.
Obviously it's too early to draw conclusions, only 2 races out of 24 have been held... On the other hand, Daniel has already shown that he still has real potential for the team.
With the volatility of the market, however, it must reverse direction. Liam Lawson – among the drivers vying for a place in RB – is at the door ready to take advantage a misstep by Ricciardo. And if Yuki continues like this, she could be among the candidates.
The young people are clamoring, Bearman's remarkable debut it is further confirmation of this. However, the Australian's mission remains the same, and already in Melbourne he will have to return to being the stable and reliable driver that we all know.
I'll kick some ass!
Helmut has already warned him, now everything depends on him.
