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Christian Horner believes that Daniel Ricciardo needed encouragement after feeling dejected about his performance ahead of the 2024 Australian GP. Speaking to onsite media, the Red Bull Racing CEO did not rule out the Australian as a candidate for their seat in 2025.
Daniel Ricciardo revealed to F1 TV the sign of encouragement from Horner when the Briton walked to the back of the grid to motivate him for the race. With a lot of speculation about the 34-year-old’s form, the Red Bull team principal did not encourage any negative narratives. When asked about his opinion on the RB driver’s form and driving, the Briton felt his race pace was similar to Yuki Tsunoda. The 50-year-old claimed he walked over to the Aussie to encourage him after a tough weekend.
Horner also felt that it was too early to rule out Daniel Ricciardo as a candidate for the Red Bull seat in 2025. He felt being an F1 driver can be a lonely place and showing encouragement is always good. The former Red Bull driver himself has clarified that his form and confidence in the car is not like it was in McLaren.
Asked about his chat with Daniel Ricciardo on the grid and what he felt about his driving, Horner replied:
“Yeah, I mean, obviously he's had a tough weekend. I haven’t really had a look at his race. It looked like he had pretty similar pace to Yuki in the race, obviously. He had a tough day yesterday getting in that lap, disallowed. Just wanted to give him a bit of encouragement.”
Asked if the RB driver needed encouragement or if he was old enough to pick himself up, he replied:
“He's a big boy, he'll pick himself up, but sometimes being a full -on driver can be a bit lonely. So a bit of encouragement is never a bad thing.”
Asked if the current form of Daniel Ricciardo had lost him the Red Bull seat, Horner said:
“I think it's too early in the year to be thinking about next year.”
Daniel Ricciardo claims he was able to get over the disappointment easily after Australian GP qualifying
Daniel Ricciardo claims nothing in his driver room was smashed or broken, as he proclaimed after the qualifying. He reckons he was in a much better mind space before the race and was able to hit refresh the next day. The RB driver felt that he handled the frustration and disappointment of the qualifying performance better than before.
Asked about his race weekend on F1 TV, he said:
“I felt like the frustration I kind of put aside for today. I let that go last night. I didn’t end up breaking anything, I felt like some objects were going to get smashed after qualifying. Maybe there’s a bit of calm with age, I don't know. I kind of knew that what is done is done and make the best of today.”
Starting from 18th place on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo was able to secure a 12th-place finish in what was an eventful race at Albert Park. While he hoped to clinch the first points of the season at his home race, the slow start of the season didn’t help the cause. Tsunoda collecting six points has put RB in sixth place in the constructor standings. Despite the disappointment of two tough weekends, the Honey Badger will be hoping to turn around the performances soon.
