Daniel Ricciardo says he is ignoring speculation about his future in Formula 1 amid rumors he could be let go by Red Bull midway through the season if his performances do not improve soon.
Ricciardo returned to F1's full-time seat in mid-2023 and entered the new season with no secret ambitions to regain his former Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.
Are Daniel Ricciardo's hopes of returning to Red Bull F1 in tatters?
But the 34-year-old instead finds himself fighting for his F1 future, having lagged behind RB teammate Hiroki Tsunoda through the opening three races.
Tsunoda reached Q3 in Saudi Arabia and Australia, and finished seventh in Melbourne to earn important points for the Red Bull junior team, while Ricciardo has yet to finish higher than 12th as of 2024.
Long-time Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has increased the pressure on Ricciardo to improve in recent weeks, claiming that both RB drivers were “too slow” in race conditions before saying: “We have to come up with something soon. ' he warned the Australian player.
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Reports this week suggest that Red Bull's reserve driver Liam Lawson could replace Ricciardo by the Miami Grand Prix in early May, but PlanetF1.com reports that Ricciardo may be taking his seat too early. I understand the suggestion that you are in imminent danger of losing.
Ricciardo addressed the speculation at his home race at Albert Park last weekend, insisting he would not listen to rumors about his future.
According to Motorsport.com, he said: “When it comes to noise, people say things like the media, 'Oh, I told you so,' but I've never heard that before.
“That's obviously not rude. [the media]but I know I need to focus on myself because I'm in this little process or journey right now.
“Any little noise will distract you from the path you’re on.
“I'm not letting any of that negativity come in.”
Ricciardo had a poor start to the 2024 season, having out-qualified Tsunoda in the first round of last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, but a few weeks earlier suffered a broken hand in a crash during practice in Zandvoort, making him unable to participate in five races. was canceled.
The former Renault and McLaren driver is baffled by his lack of progress since his return and is confident he can start the new season in a stronger way after a full pre-season with RB. admitted that he had done so.
He explained: “I didn't expect the season to start like this.
“Last year in Budapest, I drove the car the day before and I outperformed Yuki in qualifying and had a really strong race. And I didn't know anything about it.
“And after going through the preseason and everything else and all the races last year, I honestly thought I could start stronger this year.
“So, there's something that I don't understand. It's not just me, but some people are wondering why.
“I think the important thing is to not go off course.
“It's not like my head is full of nonsense or anything. Honestly, it feels good.
“And unfortunately, the results didn't make me feel great. But deep down behind the wheel I feel good and I'm excited and I want to keep racing. .
“And I'm sure we'll find a little more within ourselves, and I still believe that maybe we can find a little something in the car.”
Ricciardo insists there have been occasional glimmers of hope with his RB car in the first three races, and is keen to put distance between his past troubles at McLaren and his current struggles, but before being dropped the car He claimed he lacked confidence. At the end of 2022.
He said: “Certainly, I think there were moments when I felt more encouraged.
“Still, I have some comments for the team. Even when we're going fast, I think there are some things that I still feel like I'm missing, but certainly a little bit more encouragement.” We will continue to move forward little by little.”
“What I keep saying to the team is it's not like it's kind of a confidence thing. It's like, 'What the hell is this car going to do when you brake or turn? It's not something like “?”.
“That's not the case, maybe it's just that I don't often feel like I'm up to speed, but I can see Yuuki being able to do it.
“So [I need to] I also ask my team a lot of questions to see what we can do better. This is a two-part process.
“I'm asking the team a lot of questions and I think there will be some parts that will be put into the car for the next race.” [or] two races.
“I expect things to turn around pretty quickly and before you know it we will be doing great again. I believe in that and I want to turn things around if I can. I am.”
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