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RB driver Daniel Ricciardo has had a challenging start to his 2024 F1 campaign. Thus, his prospects of a potential reunion with Red Bull Racing appear bleak due to his current form after the first four rounds of the season.
Ricciardo has been consistently outperformed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver, besting his experienced teammate in all four qualifying sessions. Furthermore, Tsunoda has also scored all seven points for the team.
Daniel Ricciardo's on-track struggles sparked rumors of Red Bull issuing an ultimatum to the Aussie driver. The New Zealand Herald reported that if Ricciardo failed to show improvement over the Japanese and the Chinese GP, the team would consider swapping seats with Liam Lawson for the Miami GP.
RB CEO Peter Bayer addressed the ultimatum rumors, dismissing them in a recent interview with Motorsport-total.com (via @JunaidSamodien_ on X):
"These rumors are definitely not true."
Peter Bayer also shed light on Daniel Ricciardo's struggles in the VCARB 01, suggesting that the car has a relatively small working window, affecting Ricciardo's driving style. Bayer also mentioned that the Australian is not yet comfortable with the brakes, something he struggled with during his dreadful two-year stint at McLaren.
"The car works within a relatively small, marginal limit range...And Daniel has problems, especially with the brakes," Bayer added.
Daniel Ricciardo will be running a new chassis at the Chinese GP, as he felt that something in his previous chassis was contributing to the deficit of his teammate. RB will be facilitating the chassis change to give Ricciardo the benefit of the doubt.
Formula 1 returns to the Shangai International Circuit after a five-year hiatus this weekend. The Chinese GP is scheduled to take place on April 19-20.
Daniel Ricciardo believes he's not in a "bad place"
Despite receiving criticism from various quarters after his poor start to his 2024 F1 season, Daniel Ricciardo has not lost confidence. He remains determined to make his supporters proud by turning around his current form.
Ricciardo also stated that his recent form doesn't define his career and believes he is not in a bad spot, emphasizing his confidence in turning around his fortunes. In a recent interview with Speedcafe, Ricciardo said:
"I want to make people proud and I want people that support me to feel proud of what’s going on. It’s not even proving anything. I want to remind some people that two races are not career-defining. I’m not in a bad place. I’m not coming from a lack of confidence. I want to prove it to myself that I can do stuff like I did in Mexico last year, just on a consistent basis."
Daniel Ricciardo currently sits in 17th place in the drivers' standings with zero points, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is in 12th place with seven points.
