Amidst the saga surrounding Lando Norris and Max Verstappen’s duel in Austria, Daniel Ricciardo scoring points for V-CARB went under the radar. The Aussie showed that he is on the path to resurgence, and was happy with his result. However, that may still not be enough to convince Red Bull and V-CARB that he deserves a seat in 2025.
Ricciardo finished P9, earning two valuable points for V-CARB, but he continues to be under pressure. Jennie Gow, Ben Edwards, and Jack Aitken discussed the same in the Austrian GP review episode of the F1: Chequered Flag podcast.
“Don’t think it’s enough to this point. He did a good job today, but as we well know, the Red Bull family don’t consider good to be good enough.”, said Aitken on Gow’s question of him doing enough in Austria to save his seat.
Ricciardo’s performance was solid, and he certainly outperformed his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who finished down in 14th. However, Aitken and Ben Edwards feel that the Perth-born driver has to do something “extraordinary” in order to get himself a seat at the Faenza-based outfit next season.
The Austrian GP was Ricciardo’s 250th F1 race, and he considered it to be a good weekend. But, Edwards on the podcast feels that the #3 driver needs a ‘special’ weekend in Silverstone next week.
Daniel Ricciardo returns to the circuit that reignited his F1 career
In 2022, Ricciardo lost his McLaren seat and was left on the sidelines as Red Bull’s reserve. However, when he got into the RB19 for a tire test in Silverstone last season, he showed everyone he was still a top driver.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were impressed, and decided to replace a struggling Nyck de Vries with the Honey Badger. At that point, Ricciardo’s hope was to perform well for V-CARB (then AlphaTauri) before getting into Red Bull again.
Red Bull says Ricciardo’s lap times in Silverstone test this morning pushed move over the line.
DR had been against idea of racing this year but clearly couldn’t turn down the opportunity – puts him right back in contention for Red Bull seat down the line. https://t.co/m1KSPIS25Y
— Nate Saunders (@natesaundersF1) July 11, 2023
Unfortunately, things haven’t quite worked out for him. While he isn’t in immediate danger of losing his place, Ricciardo travels to Silverstone this year in hopes of saving his F1 career. With a top performance in Britain, followed by a strong end to the 2024 campaign, Ricciardo could secure a place for himself on the grid in 2025.
