Ricciardo acknowledges his struggles with maintaining a steady performance in 2024.
RB’s Daniel Ricciardo believes that the enduring careers of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton serve as evidence of his untapped potential in Formula 1, despite facing challenges in the first half of the 2024 season.
Thus far, Ricciardo has mostly played a supporting role to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, with RB experiencing a resurgence and establishing itself as a strong competitor in the midfield this season.
Tsunoda’s achievements have somewhat overshadowed Ricciardo’s respectable tally of 12 points, as Tsunoda has accumulated 22 points. As a result, they currently hold the 12th and 13th positions, respectively, in the driver’s standings.
As uncertainty looms over the team’s future lineup and the performance of Red Bull’s struggling Sergio Perez, Ricciardo maintains his belief in his abilities despite his age, pointing to the enduring careers of Alonso and Hamilton.
“They have demonstrated that you can still succeed at an older age,” he remarked while contemplating his own career’s future.
He also emphasized instances where he had performed exceptionally well as evidence that he still possesses the ability to deliver strong performances.
“I’m not claiming that it’s sufficient…,” the Australian admitted. “But I do place significant importance on that, especially at this stage of my career when people are questioning, ‘Does he still have what it takes? Is he past his prime?'”
Although time may still be on his side, Ricciardo conceded that his lack of consistency has been a notable weakness in 2024.
“I would say that what I have not excelled at is maintaining consistency.
“At times, it’s a matter of knowing, and at times, it remains somewhat uncertain. However, we have not been able to consistently perform well in qualifying or secure points every weekend.
“That is where I have fallen short – week in and week out – and in this sport, that can be a significant downfall.”
Ricciardo has faced challenging races in 2024, including retirements in China and Japan, as well as nine finishes outside the points. However, he did achieve top 10 finishes in Belgium, Austria, and Canada, with his fourth-place finish in the Miami sprint race undoubtedly being the highlight of his season thus far.
“At least the notable results have been substantial enough for people to recognize that I can still deliver a strong lap or even an exceptional one,” he reflected.
“I suppose what I am attempting to convey is that, fortunately, the stopwatch can still yield impressive results. However, for some reason, consistency has eluded me, so I must address that aspect.
Setting aside the issues with consistency, Ricciardo confidently stated, “I still have what it takes,” and challenged himself to showcase it more frequently in the second half of the season.
“But when people question whether I still possess that factor, I have been able to respond positively more than once,” he remarked. “I simply need to resolve my shortcomings.”
Photo from Daniel Ricciardo Instagram
