Daniel Ricciardo has had a tough start to his 2024 season as he has failed to score a point in the opening three races of the campaign. Moreover, in most of the sessions, his Visa Cash App RB (V-CARB) teammate Yuki Tsunoda has outperformed him. Although speculation has been mounting over Ricciarado’s future as a result of his poor performances, V-CARB team principal Laurent Mekies chose to defend his driver by taking the onus on himself to improve the #3 racer’s results on track.
Mekies told Autosport (as quoted by Motorsport Week), “The truth is that we need to give him a car that he’s more comfortable with.” The Honey Badger has failed to find his rhythm behind the wheel of his 2024 challenger and that has led to poor results on track, exemplified by that late-race spin during the Saudi Arabian GP.
Ricciardo has really struggled to keep up with Tsunoda this season as the Japanese has out-qualified him on every occasion this year. Moreover, although Ricciardo did manage to finish ahead of Tsunoda during the season-opening Bahrain GP, it was only down to a split strategy and team orders.
Otherwise, Tsunoda has beaten Ricciardo to the flag in both Saudi Arabia and Australia. Moreover, in terms of the team’s standings, Ricciardo hasn’t been able to make much impact either.
Tsunoda has been the only points scorer for the team with six points so far. The young Japanese driver has been consistent as he has run a solid 79 laps in the points. On the other hand, Ricciardo has managed just two.
Therefore, many experts in the paddock and the media believe that the 34-year-old is living on borrowed time. With several talented young drivers waiting for their opportunity to drive in F1, Ricciardo’s time at V-CARB and the sport altogether could be over sooner rather than later.
Has Daniel Ricciardo been given an ultimatum by Red Bull?
Daniel Ricciardo might be in hot waters with the higher-ups at Red Bull. While Laurent Mekies does seem to be in support of his driver, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has seemingly had enough of the Australian.
Amidst the rising scrutiny over Ricciardo’s recent performances, the name of Liam Lawson has cropped up as a potential candidate to replace the Honey Badger. It was also reported that the Australian may be replaced by the New Zealander before the season even comes to a conclusion. However, PlanetF1 has rubbished those reports.
Irrespective of what the reports say, Marko has seemingly already given the #3 driver an ultimatum after his Saudi Arabian GP woes. RacingNews365 quoted the Austrian as saying, “There is a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel. Yuki’s qualifying was very good and Ricciardo will have to come up with something soon.”
