Daniel Ricciardo invigorated by criticism
The Australian had a rather mixed first half of the season, despite a few flashes of brilliance. A lack of results has earned him much criticism in recent weeks. However, the former Red Bull driver is not giving up and is trying to keep his place at Racing Bulls with a view to 2025.
This is one of the main soap operas on the Formula 1 transfer market. Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, lacking results this year, is on the hot seat and could give up his seat next season to New Zealander Liam Lawson. The Australian has not been consistent enough and his good performances have been rare (4th in the sprint race in Miami, qualified 5th in Canada), putting him in a delicate position and the target of multiple criticisms lately.
The most virulent comment was made by the 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve during the Canadian Grand Prix on Sky Sports: “Why is he still in Formula 1? We’ve been hearing the same things for four or five years: ‘We need to make the car better for him.’ No, you are in F1. Maybe a team can make an effort for Lewis Hamilton, who has won world championships, but it won’t do it for a driver who isn’t up to par. If you’re not up to par, go home and someone else will take your place.” Very harsh words against the Australian driver who, since his return last year replacing Nyck de Vries, has struggled to achieve good results and suffers in comparison with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite his recent promising results, the Racing Bulls driver acknowledges his lack of consistency this season, having scored 11 points compared to 20 for his Japanese teammate.
« It’s my biggest frustration. It’s frustrating because I look at myself in the mirror and I tell myself that I can achieve it, so how can I ensure doing it consistently? There will come a day when I won’t be able to perform as well, but I prefer to see these good results, even if they are occasional, which show that I still have the ability to do something great, and it’s up to me to exploit them more often. » The Australian is therefore still hopeful of retaining his seat for 2025, the recent criticisms against him having given him a boost of confidence to perform better.
« I have the feeling that when we have a point with the press and I hear that people are talking about me, I tend to have good weekends. Maybe there is some good in all of this. » The driver with 7 victories in F1 seems to handle the pressure that is put on his shoulders and explained that he is feeling « better and better in the car » Could he become the ideal teammate for Max Verstappen? The answer is still unknown, but the coming weeks look to be decisive.
