Daniel Ricciardo Reflects on His Position in F1 Amidst Rough Patch: ”I Don’t Want to Be Here Just to Be Here”

Daniel Ricciardo recently revealed that he is keen to continue racing despite going through a rough patch. He wants to prove that he is capable of driving in F1 at a top level. Staying in the sport just to fill up a seat is something that doesn’t interest the Perth-born driver.

As quoted by soymotor.com, the Honey Badger told Speed Cafe,

“I’m enjoying driving now. It’s not so focused on the results. Obviously, I don’t want to be here just to be here. I want to earn that seat and for the team to be, hopefully, higher“.

Ricciardo spoke about his lofty ambitions even before the 2024 season began. Unfortunately, right now, his contributions to the Faenza-based outfit are not reflected in his results. The 34-year-old is 17th in the championship standings and is yet to score a point.

The highest he has finished so far is 12th in his home race in Australia. On the other hand, Yuki Tsunoda in the other V-CARB has managed to score seven points in four races.

Tsunoda outperforming Ricciardo is another painful aspect of the latter’s season so far. Tsunoda finished P7 in Ricciardo’s home race, in front of his home fans whereas he struggled to come close to threatening the Japanese driver. With Tsunoda having a clear advantage, Ricciardo has his work cut out for him if he is to continue his F1 journey with V-CARB in 2025.

Will Red Bull sack Daniel Ricciardo?

Red Bull is known to be ruthless when it comes to making decisions about its driver line-ups. Daniel Ricciardo will be well aware of the same as it was he who replaced an underperforming Nyck de Vries at V-CARB (formerly AlphaTauri) midway through last year.

Ricciardo had started the 2023 campaign with Red Bull as a reserve driver. However, since De Vries failed to meet expectations in the first half of the season, Red Bull decided to replace the Dutchman with Ricciardo for the second half.

While Ricciardo was not at his brilliant best, he did enough to keep his seat for 2024. However, four races into the 2024 campaign, Red Bull will be expecting a lot more from him.

If the Austrian side does decide to replace him,  they could promote Liam Lawson. The New Zealander was mightily impressive when he stepped in for an injured Ricciardo last season and will be eager to prove himself if given the opportunity.

As for Ricciardo, his F1 career could come to an end if Red Bull decides to let go of him. At 34, time is running out for the honey badger, and there are a plethora of young and talented drivers patiently waiting on the sidelines, ready to pounce at an opportunity.