“Before We Just Tell Me I’m Sh*t…”: Daniel Ricciardo Makes Desperate Demand as V-CARB Seat Comes Under Scrutiny

Sabyasachi Biswas | 05/04/2024
“Before We Just Tell Me I’m Sh*t...”: Daniel Ricciardo Makes Desperate Demand as V-CARB Seat Comes Under Scrutiny

Back-to-back underwhelming performances this season have jeopardized Daniel Ricciardo, as his RB seat is far from safe. The Australian driver is counting his days, and in doing so, he makes a desperate demand to prove his worth and, therefore, save his seat.

Scott Mitchell-Malm from The Race recently spoke to Ricciardo and asked if he needed a new chassis in his VCARB 01 to overcome an undetected problem. Mitchell-Malm posed the question after Ricciardo was found to be struggling with his car repeatedly.

“That was certainly something I raised the possibility of if I’m still struggling,” said the RB driver from Land Down Under to Mitchell-Malm. “Before we just tell me I’m shit, let’s at least get that sorted and put everything to bed.”

The 34-year-old has been struggling in the last few races, and his on-track performances have spoken negatively for him. He was no match for his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who consistently outperformed him this season and last.

Tsunoda out-qualified Ricciardo on all three occasions and finished ahead of the latter in two. The only exception was Bahrain, and that too because of team order, which put the experienced Aussie at the knife’s edge.

How is Daniel Ricciardo losing his ground?

Daniel Ricciardo did not have the start of the season he was hoping for, and things took a worse turn in Bahrain, the first race of 2024. The two RB drivers disagreed during the closing stages of the race after the team directed the Japanese driver to concede the position and swap with his teammate.

Tsunoda, upon getting the call, was extremely unhappy. The swap occurred in the end, but it was a little too late for Ricciardo to catch up on Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. This led the drivers to air their grievances during the race, and in the aftermath, a rift followed.

Interestingly, both RB drivers are competing for Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat for next year. However, it looks to be a very big ask for Ricciardo, given that his underperformance in the next few races might take away his RB seat.

In addition, Perez has been doing his job optimally at Red Bull and looks in control of securing the contract extension for 2025. This combined puts Daniel Ricciardo in an uncomfortable position, a quicksand he’s trying to get out of.

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Daniel Ricciardo Sergio Perez Yuki Tsunoda

About the author

Avatar photo

Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

Don’t miss these