Daniel Ricciardo’s 2024 season was supposed to be ‘make or break’. Unfortunately, things haven’t quite gone according to plan. His underwhelming start to the season has been reminiscent of the past few years, which have been nightmarish for the Aussie. However, relief may not be too far away for the Honey Badger. All he has to do is keep his F1 seat for another year and a half.
The FIA gave an insight into 2026’s regulation changes earlier this week, and Ricciardo will be beaming. F1 cars are set to undergo a drastic change, especially on the powertrains front. But, there are slight alterations to the aerodynamics too, and these should favor Ricciardo massively.
Daniel listen to me, you will hold on until 2026, okay, these cars were made for you pic.twitter.com/dESaxRs4dF
— Jo (@itsIightsout) June 6, 2024
Known for preferring lower downforce on his cars, the 2026 F1 challengers will be looking to do just that. The Manual Override Mode, which will replace the DRS, will also favor the Perth-born driver. Dubbed as ‘MOM’, using this will allow a driver to extract the “maximum available” power from the engine to move ahead of their rival in the front.
As such, overtaking will have more to do with the car’s engine, than aerodynamics which has been the case over the last several years.
Because Ricciardo’s most successful F1 stint was with Red Bull (2014-2018), which coincided with the turbo-hybrid era, he has a reason to smile when looking at the upcoming regulation changes.
Excitement over Daniel Ricciardo’s potential resurgence
Ricciardo’s feelings over the looming regulation changes remain unknown. But the 34-year-old’s fans, who haven’t had anything to celebrate for a long time, are full of hope. As soon as the FIA revealed the upcoming changes, they look to social media and urged Ricciardo to “hold on”.
Not my whole timeline telling Daniel to hold on.
— RicFEA (@DailyGallavich) June 6, 2024
As is the case in 2024, memes follow claims made by fans on social media. An iconic image of ‘Jack’ from Titanic, holding on to a small piece of debris from the sinking ship was somehow connected to Ricciardo holding on to his F1 career.
ric nation after the 2026 regs announcement, visualized: https://t.co/DUDQJzNmA6 pic.twitter.com/AuflXX22Ce
— ফারিনা // Farina (@namedafterflour) June 6, 2024
Ricciardo himself will have other things in mind. To get to a comfortable stage with the 2026 regulation changes, the #3 driver has to secure his seat on the grid first. Currently, his season with V-CARB isn’t going according to plan.
His 2024 season started on a disastrous note, but after a chassis change in China, he has made some amends. However, to convince V-CARB (and his parent team Red Bull) that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level, Ricciardo will have to make further improvements. He will have to match or outperform his teammate Yuki Tsunoda; something he hasn’t been able to do to date.
