Daniel Ricciardo hoped to make the most of the 2024 season to fulfill his fairy-tale dream of driving next to Max Verstappen. Unfortunately for him, his start has been terrible, and Yuki Tsunoda has outperformed him completely in the opening three rounds. However, Red Bull jumped in to deny rumors of a mid-season sacking.
Red Bull has a reputation for being harsh when evaluating its drivers. The most recent instance involved Nyck de Vries, who was dropped in favor of Ricciardo midway through the 2023 season. Now, with Liam Lawson on the sidelines, Red Bull has a strong contender to take Ricciardo’s place.
Recent reports suggest that this scenario was made up to lend weight to a rumor that would subsequently turn out to be false. Trusted Red Bull sources have refuted these claims, as reported by Speedcafe. They say that no discussions about replacing Ricciardo have taken place within the team. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko too, continue to back him internally, despite some public criticism.
Marko argued that Ricciardo’s inadequate car was the reason behind his poor performance. Meanwhile, Horner backed his beloved driver by going above and beyond. The 50-year-old claimed that life can sometimes be lonely for F1 drivers, which is why he decided to go on the track and encourage his former driver.
Regardless rumors of Ricciardo’s impending Red Bull exit continue to rage on. These grew stronger after a report from the NZ Herald stated that Red Bull and V-CARB issued an ultimatum to the Perth-born driver. If he doesn’t improve in the coming races, Lawson will replace him.
Daniel Ricciardo maintains belief despite recent challenges
So far, Daniel Ricciardo’s time with the VCARB hasn’t gone well. Even in his home race, the Australian driver had a dismal Q1 exit and another pointless race. On the other hand, his young teammate Yuki Tsunoda continues to impress by consistently outperforming him.
Even though the circumstances appear to be comparable to Ricciardo’s time at McLaren, the 34-year-old shut them out. In fact, he disclosed a playful exchange between himself and Christian Horner, which shows that he has much more support than he ever did at Woking.
Speaking with Laura Winter in the F1 post-race show, Ricciardo said, “ He just wished me well and told me to keep my head down and not be discouraged.”
Addressing the comparisons to McLaren, he said, “This is a very different situation to McLaren. Especially in 2022, I was running on very little confidence. And I was kinda confused with the car and didn’t really understand it. That was a completely different thing. This isn’t that.”
Ricciardo, however, remains disappointed with his performance in Australia. He missed out on an opportunity to score well in front of his home fans, but refuses to let doubts “creep in” moving forward.
