Daniel Ricciardo previously expressed doubts about his performance due to the VCARB-01 chassis.
The Australian driver had a disappointing start to the 2024 F1 season, failing to meet RB’s expectations in the first four races. Red Bull’s sister team will introduce a new car for Ricciardo, an eight-time race winner, at the Chinese GP. RB’s Sporting Director revealed the real reason behind this decision.
Previously, Ricciardo had suggested that a new chassis could provide him with peace of mind amidst his recent struggles. The 34-year-old driver mentioned that different cars yielded different results during his time with McLaren. However, it became clear that a new chassis would not significantly affect performance.
Permane stated that it was somewhat coincidental that the Italian team had a chassis ready for the occasion. Furthermore, RB’s Sporting Director emphasized that it made sense to give the new car to Daniel Ricciardo instead of someone else, as the Japanese driver had consistently outperformed his Australian teammate this year. However, it was stated that the new chassis was not being brought in response to Ricciardo’s disappointing results.
Ricciardo had a tough weekend in Suzuka, being knocked out in Q1 for exceeding track limits and ultimately crashing on the first lap. It was recently stated that Daniel Ricciardo took a cautious approach at the start of the race. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda scored his first points at his home track in F1.
Alan Permane stated that Ricciardo made a mistake during qualifying at [unspecified location]. The Sporting Director of RB noted that if the Australian driver had not exceeded track limits, he could have had a successful weekend. Permane emphasized that Ricciardo had the pace to overtake the Haas cars and secure valuable points for the team if he had a good performance on Saturday.
“He [Daniel Ricciardo] made a mistake, but if he hadn’t crossed the white line during qualifying, he would have had a fantastic weekend… He certainly had the race pace to beat the Haas cars and score points.”
Daniel Ricciardo urgently needs to recover from a series of poor results this season. The winner of eight races needs to score points in the upcoming races and surpass Tsunoda to secure his future in F1. Therefore, fans hope that the new RB chassis will help the Australian driver during the Chinese GP, just over a week away.
