Daniel Ricciardo has had a very poor start to the current Formula 1 season. The beginning of the season has been disappointing for him, as he has been beaten by his teammate three times in qualifying. To make matters worse, the Japanese driver scored points in Australia while Ricciardo struggled to stay in the top 10. This has put a lot of pressure on Ricciardo, who is fighting to save his declining career in F1.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Ricciardo has received an ultimatum from his team to improve and start standing out. This decision came after his tough weekend in Australia, where he was eliminated in the first qualifying session and finished in a disappointing 12th place. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsundoda, his teammate, scored his first points for the team. This led the Red Bull team to make a decision and gave Ricciardo two races to prove himself, just like his teammate.
Red Bull currently has several drivers in their junior categories waiting for a promotion. One of them is a possible replacement for Ricciardo, who is performing exceptionally well in Super Formula. Therefore, Ricciardo has the Japanese and Chinese Grands Prix to secure his place in the team, otherwise, he may lose his seat to a fast driver. This is a critical situation for the 34-year-old driver at Red Bull.
Last year, Ricciardo joined VCARB (AlphaTauri) and outperformed his teammate at the Hungarian GP. This trend continued throughout the rest of the season, with Ricciardo consistently ahead of his opponent. However, this momentum has not been maintained in the 2024 season, as Ricciardo has been trailing Tsunoda since the beginning of the campaign.
Ricciardo shared his thoughts on his disappointing performances. He admitted he did not expect the start of the season to be so bad. He finds it surprising that his teammate is consistently faster than him in the same car, and it is hard for him to understand why. Despite this, Ricciardo feels comfortable with the car and remains optimistic about his chances in the upcoming Grand Prix races. He has a lot of experience at Suzuka and hopes to score points to secure his place in the team in the future.
