Since Ricciardo took over Nyck de Vries’ place at AlphaTauri/RB in the middle of the 2024 Formula 1 season, he has struggled to perform and even missed five races after breaking his hand during practice for the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was expected to outperform Tsunoda, but that has not been the case. So far in 2024, the Japanese driver has had the upper hand over him.
Once again, during the Australian GP weekend, Ricciardo disappointed his fans by qualifying in 18th place (while Tsunoda qualified in eighth) and finishing in 12th place (while Tsunoda finished in seventh).
Although it seems that Red Bull boss Christian Horner played a role in bringing Ricciardo back to F1, Liam Lawson was inexplicably overlooked. Recently, Marko warned Ricciardo that he needs to deliver better results.
After another poor performance in Australia, Marko admitted that the team did not expect Tsunoda to consistently outperform Ricciardo. He added: “We brought Daniel back because we believed he could regain his previous form and become a candidate for Red Bull Racing. But currently, he is facing difficulties, and we hope he can regain his form. However, he needs to surpass Yuki [Tsunoda] to do so, and that is not an easy task.”
When asked about Ricciardo’s issue, Marko replied: “It’s something mental, because he has shown before that he is a fast driver. Sometimes, these things happen.”
Regarding the role of the car in Ricciardo’s performance, Marko said: “The data is available for both drivers, so there are no secrets. They have the same car, everything is equal. Generally, it comes down to the mental aspect for the drivers.”
As for Tsunoda, Marko acknowledged his current satisfactory form, but stated that it is too early to determine if he is ready for a place in Red Bull. He commented: “He has consistently shown competitiveness and has not made mistakes. However, as the saying goes, a good performance does not guarantee future success. He needs to keep improving before we consider him for that position.”
(Reported by Agnes Carlier in Melbourne)
