After spending eight months away from F1 as a driver, Daniel Ricciardo has finally returned to the grid. This comes after AlphaTauri sacked Nyck de Vries following a series of underwhelming performances and brought the Australian driver as a replacement. Now Ricciardo, already under pressure to deliver, has begun asking questions about his car’s underperformance.
Ricciardo’s return at the Hungarian Grand Prix impressed a lot of people. But in the latest race in Belgium, his performance dipped slightly and he was left wondering why Even though Yuki Tsunoda, his teammate managed to salvage a point for the team, he was visibly struggling to stop the likes of Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll.
Notably, Tsunoda started the race from P11 but finished in P10. Technically, the double DNF of Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz could have brought him to P9. But that didn’t happen as he struggled with the AT04, which is regarded as the slowest car on the grid.
Daniel Ricciardo began asking questions to AlphaTauri
Ricciardo started the Spa Francorchamps race from P19 on the grid after having his qualifying lap deleted. However, he finished in P16, which was a three-place gain. Still, that was not significant as points were always going to be his main aim, irrespective of where he started the Grand Prix.
Speaking about this, the 34-year-old revealed as per Autosport, “I felt quite, let’s say, limited today in terms of pace. I think even in clear air I was struggling a lot. Honestly, just getting the front [end], all through the middle sector, all the high speed [sections], I was just washing, washing [out].”
The Honey Badger then recalled how the pace was limited in the AT04, as he struggled with the tires. The AlphaTauri challenger was not gentle to the rubber, and at the same time, its pace kept him behind the pack. Due to this, he kept struggling to nurse the tires and eventually asked the question about the underperformance.
How is AlphaTauri performing in 2023?
With Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries on the team, AlphaTauri struggled to perform in the opening rounds. In the first 12 rounds, they finished in the points on three separate occasions, with all three of them coming in the form of a P10 finish by Tsunoda.
AlphaTauri, which is Red Bull’s sister team is currently in P10 in the Constructors’ championship and looks considerably weaker than Alfa Romeo and Williams at the moment.
Now with Daniel Ricciardo back in the team, he will need to make sure he beats his teammate Tsunoda with better performances. If not, there are still risks lurking as he looks forward to an uncertain future within the Red Bull family.
