Daniel Ricciardo is set to stay at RB for the rest of the season, with Red Bull deciding to keep Sergio Perez for the remaining 10 races. But for 2025, Ricciardo does not have a seat, and he will need to impress more than ever before, to ensure he lands a place on the grid. Many believe that the 35-year-old is past his prime. However, Ricciardo uses Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso’s age as examples to insist he has a lot more to give.
“They [Hamilton and Alonso] have proven you can still do it at an older age,” said Ricciardo as quoted by Motorsport.
Ricciardo took a moment to highlight his positives from the 2024 season. He believed he performed well, and the same moments put him in line to replace Perez, a move that was reported to be complete until Liberty Media intervened.
BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo joins Red Bull Racing as third driver for 2023 #F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/7JmFQlWO3r
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 23, 2022
Ricciardo worked hard. But fate wasn’t kind to him. He got back into F1 midway into the 2023 season after six months without a seat. Unfortunately, an arm injury sidelined him for several weeks. As such, he didn’t get enough time to show Red Bull that he had what it took to drive for them.
However, Ricciardo’s performances have not been consistently good. The honey badger has improved since the season started, but some issues need addressing before he has a solid claim at the seat of a top team.
Inconsistency costing Ricciardo dearly
The main difference between Hamilton Alonso, and Ricciardo is that the former two have been consistent for almost two decades. Ricciardo has failed in that respect since leaving Red Bull for the first time in 2019.
Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve wasn’t holding back with this assessment of Daniel Ricciardo pic.twitter.com/oy0sBuFK2v
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 8, 2024
Since rejoining Red Bull’s sister team (RB), Ricciardo has not had a lot of good performances. Not being able to put his car into the points consistently, has been a failure, and Yuki Tsunoda (his teammate) has outperformed him for the biggest part this season.
Ricciardo knows what he has to improve on. He doesn’t think his form has been that bad, and if he succeeds in maintaining consistency, he is sure he can be on the grid for years to come.
