Despite getting a lifeline to his career in 2023, Daniel Ricciardo is back to square one in 2024. The Australian is back to facing the same criticism he was facing during his McLaren tenure. All the negative opinions are stemming from his poor performance on the track, especially compared to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Except in Bahrain, Tsunoda finished ahead of the veteran Australian on both the qualifying and race fronts. However, Daniel Ricciardo is taking all the criticism on the chin and not letting it bring him down.
Speaking to Speedcafe, he said, “I want to make people proud and I want people that support me to feel proud of what’s going on. It’s not even proving anything. I want to remind some people that two races are not career-defining. I’m not in a bad place. I’m not coming from a lack of confidence. I want to prove it to myself that I can do stuff like I did in Mexico last year, just on a consistent basis.”
Unlike his last stint where he let the negative remarks get to him, the Honey Badger is ready to fight. He’s taking everything thrown toward him on his chest and is ready to work. Not to prove anything to anyone, he’s doing it all for himself. At least that’s what his comments indicate.
The Australian also never got the entire year he desperately wanted to restore his powers. Considering that, Ricciardo can be forgiven for being a little out of sorts after being propelled into a racing seat earlier than expected.
On top of that, he also suffered setbacks in 2023, with his accident in Zandvoort. However, now with no excuses, he is ready to earn his seat and not become a non-performing asset. Besides, the eight-time race winner has to show improvements to retain his seat, let alone make a bid for the Red Bull seat.
Daniel Ricciardo showcases desire to earn his spot in the sport
After being unable to outperform his teammate in any of the races so far, Ricciardo is doing everything he can to change the scenario. He even went to the lengths of requesting a chassis change for the upcoming race in China. Lucky for him, the team already had a planned change in time for Shanghai so his request was granted.
All these efforts are in light of Ricciardo’s desire to retain his spot at RB. “Obviously, I don’t want to just be here to be here; I want to earn that seat and the team is hopefully further up,” he admitted.
However, he will need to pick up the pace sooner rather than later because of the Red Bull family’s ruthless approach toward any underperforming drivers. Such driver changes have happened time and again within the Red Bull family. Now, Ricciardo is running the risk of suffering the same fate, as Liam Lawson is a viable and tested option for the team.
