Daniel Ricciardo Can Finally Let Out a Breath as V-CARB Plans Complete Fixer Upper

Daniel Ricciardo had started the 2024 season on the wrong foot, as he persistently struggled to get the best out of his car. Yet, his team, V-CARB, did not give up on solving the Australian’s issues. In the last two races in China and Miami, Ricciardo has performed relatively better, courtesy of a new chassis. However, V-CARB team boss Laurent Mekies has ensured that they will do a complete fixer-upper of the 34-year-old’s car to boost his performance further.

According to RacingNews365, Mekies first appreciated and acknowledged Ricciardo’s sense of relief after his P4 finish in the Miami GP sprint race. He said, “I’m sure it’s a huge burden off his shoulders because the United States is almost his second home race”.

On the former McLaren driver’s early season struggles, Mekies stated how it was “very difficult to explain it to the outside world”. Though, the V-CARB boss has been persistent on the fact that it was the car that was having some issues, and they “can do even more in the coming races to better tailor the car to him”.

Ricciardo has not been happy with some elements of the car that led him to underperform relative to his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, in the first four races. That was part of the reason why V-CARB ensured to give him a new chassis as pre-planned in China.

However, Ricciardo had a roller coaster of a weekend in Miami, with only a P18 qualifying result after his P4 finish in the sprint. Thus, Mekies believes that they are yet to fully fix all of the issues the Aussie raised with the V-CARB-01.

However, Ricciardo needs to perform consistently relative to Tsunoda. The #3 driver has often shown glimpses of his old peak form in the past few seasons but lacked consistency.

Can Daniel Ricciardo avoid his Miami GP form being another false dawn?

There is no doubt about Daniel Ricciardo’s class and talent as an F1 driver. Given he has yet to achieve the kind of success, everyone expected from him, the Aussie has never given up on his dreams and knows his potential. However, in the past few years, Ricciardo has not shown the form of his Red Bull days consistently.

Even during his McLaren stint, the 34-year-old had some stellar performances such as his win in Monza in 2021 and his aggressive overtaking at the 2022 Mexican GP. However, these results did not transcend into consistent form through the rest of the races.

The 2024 Miami GP roller coaster is the perfect case in point of the same. Ricciardo’s surprising Q1 elimination after a P4 finish in the sprint race was a big letdown and shock for many. However, it signifies how his seasons have gone in recent times, with one major headline performance preceded and followed by multiple underwhelming ones.

The Australian needs to avoid his Miami GP performance being another false dawn like the past three seasons. Given his chances of getting a fairytale Red Bull promotion are faint now, Ricciardo needs to take up a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude and get good results consistently.