Daniel Ricciardo began the season with a watch on returning to Pink Bull. Six Grands Prix later, he has needed to regulate his sights. It’s the advantageous line that drivers in System 1 tread between success and failure.
“Sure, I haven’t had an excellent begin to the season, however I’m not a rookie making an attempt to ascertain myself within the sport and show one thing,” he mentioned. “I’ve a observe document and proof I can do it.” He mentioned his group, Visa Money App RB, “believes this and is aware of I can.”
It has been a continuation of the roller-coaster experience from final season when Ricciardo returned to System 1 eight months after McLaren launched him with a season remaining on a three-year contract. After profitable seven Grands Prix with Pink Bull from 2014 to 2018, he rejoined the group because the third driver after leaving McLaren. Then in July, he changed Nyck de Vries at Pink Bull’s sister group, AlphaTauri.
Within the Dutch Grand Prix final yr, his third race with AlphaTauri, Ricciardo broke his left hand in a number of locations in a crash throughout a apply session. He missed the subsequent 4 races, however drove within the ultimate 5. He scored the group’s greatest results of the season in Mexico Metropolis, the place he was seventh.
“The massive image is that I might like to work my means again as much as the highest group,” he mentioned in an interview in August. After the primary 4 races of this yr, Christian Horner, the Pink Bull group principal, mentioned Ricciardo “by his personal admittance would really feel he has underperformed this yr.”
Moderately than a return to Pink Bull for 2025, Horner was requested if Liam Lawson, the reserve driver, may substitute Ricciardo this season. Lawson drove for Ricciardo final yr when he was injured.
“I believe it’s just about in Daniel’s fingers,” Horner mentioned. “He wants to indicate the form of head-turning type to make not solely ourselves, however doubtlessly to make others, take discover.”
On the fifth race in China this yr, a change of chassis on Ricciardo’s automobile helped him qualify above Yuki Tsunoda, his teammate, for the primary time.
Ricciardo mentioned the group had discovered nothing fallacious with the earlier chassis. “It’s simply to clear my thoughts and have it,” he mentioned. “I’m certain deep down it can assist in a method, form or type.”
After ending eleventh within the dash, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Ricciardo crashed in the course of the Grand Prix. The injury to his automobile pressured him to retire after 33 laps.
Laurent Mekies, the Visa Money App RB group principal, mentioned he was pleased with the progress Ricciardo had made.
“We’ve been saying for fairly just a few races that he was getting increasingly comfy with the automobile, and it proved to be the case in China,” he mentioned in an interview. “I’m certain it’s not the final step ahead that we’ll make with him.”
“It was clear that Daniel was uncomfortable with a few of the traits of the automobile because the very starting,” he added. “A few of it we try to deal with within the quick time period, a few of it we’re going to tackle a bit later within the season.”
On the final race, in Miami, Ricciardo completed fourth within the dash, scoring 5 factors, his first factors of the season. He mentioned the end result “felt like an announcement” after the primary few races wherein “every part that might have gone fallacious form of felt prefer it went fallacious.”
“It’s good to nonetheless have that canine in me,” he mentioned. “Lots of people like to speak, so it’s good to subtly present them a few center fingers.”
The tumult for Ricciardo continued just a few hours later when he certified 18th for the Grand Prix. A 3-place grid penalty for an infringement in China had him begin final. He completed fifteenth.
“Simply as rapidly as you’ll be able to have race, you’ll be able to have a foul race,” he mentioned. “At this stage it’s important to be good, and when you find yourself, issues can look fairly spectacular. I’ll positively maintain onto these, nonetheless work on just a few flaws, and preserve this prepare going.”
