The Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo responded defiantly to criticisms from former Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones, who claimed that Ricciardo has passed his peak in the sport. After a challenging two-year period with McLaren, Ricciardo took a break at the beginning of 2023 before returning with AlphaTauri. Now back with the recently renamed RB team for the 2024 season, Ricciardo had a slow start. He was outperformed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in both races and has yet to score any points. When asked if he has anything to prove in the upcoming races, Ricciardo confidently replied: “Absolutely not.”
Jones is not the only one criticizing Ricciardo. Former Formula 1 team owner and current commentator Eddie Jordan believes that Ricciardo “needs a result more than anyone.” Additionally, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko warned Ricciardo that he must show improvement soon to match Tsunoda in the VCARB01 car. There is also pressure from Red Bull’s reserve driver Liam Lawson, who replaced Ricciardo when he got injured last season.
With 22 races remaining in the 2024 season, Ricciardo will have plenty of opportunities to silence his critics. This weekend, he will be racing in his home country, Australia, for the first time in two years, which he is very excited about. Reflecting on the season so far, Ricciardo described it as a slow start but remains optimistic that the next race in Melbourne will kick off the season on a positive note.
Ricciardo had a forgettable race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he finished outside the points and spun late in the race. He attributed his difficulties to identifiable issues with the VCARB01 car and believes that once these problems are resolved, the team can perform much better.
