"If someone says something": Daniel Ricciardo addresses Helmut Marko's comments after the race in Jeddah

Daniel Ricciardo is unfazed by Helmut Marko’s criticism of his performance against teammate Yuki Tsunoda in Jeddah. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the 2024 Australian GP, the RB driver claimed that he doesn’t have a point to prove and is focused on taking an approach of a race weekend at a time.

After the poor performance in Jeddah, Daniel Ricciardo admitted he had issues with his car and a 41-second pitstop cost him places. Finishing 16th in the race, he told media, including Sportskeeda, that the issues on his car could not be fixed overnight.

Explaining the issues in Melbourne, he suggested that the performance of both cars wasn’t similar and there were a few inconsistencies. Marko had sent a warning through his column that the Australian needed to perform better.

Daniel Ricciardo believes negative chatter in the paddock and public domain is not annoying and is part of the game. He believes his goal is to drive for himself and not impress anyone.

Asked if Marko’s comments were annoying or whether they were motivating at his home race, Daniel Ricciardo replied:

“No, it's not annoying. I think there's always, as a big part of our job. The most important part is the driving, but a big part of it is talking to you guys and obviously hearing when things go well, obviously everyone's talking positively and when they don't, they don't talk so positively. So that's part of it. I think also the more I get into the sport, the more I just know that I'm back here because I believe I can do it. I believe I belong here, and it's really that."

"When people say, do you have a point to prove or anything, or do you need to keep people happy or please anyone, I'm here for myself. It's honestly that, because I know I can still do it. I do want to make people proud, the people that support me.If someone says something, I know it already, because I've told myself that, or I know what's expected from me. So that's that.”

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Daniel Ricciardo is hoping for a better qualifying result than the first two races

Daniel Ricciardo believes that making it to Q3 is the priority for the 2024 season. He admitted that he could have qualified better in Bahrain due to tight midfield in Saudi Arabian qualifying.

He believes he needs to improve his qualifying performance to achieve his potential, as tight midfield makes every tenth count, and felt he can achieve his goals.

Optimistic about giving his 2024 season a better start, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“Of course, I want to be qualifying Q3. I want to get these results that I believe I can. But it's tight. We're in such a tight midfield. And like Bahrain in quali, I knew I didn't put the lap together I should have. And I put my hand up for that. And that's the difference. That's the difference from maybe P14 to a Q3. I think end of Q1 in Saudi from P9 to P16 was less than a tenth. So you can very quickly look like a hero or not. And that's where every tenth counts. And that's where obviously I look to myself first.”

Daniel Ricciardo and RB are yet to score the first points of the 2024 season. Looking forward to his home race, the former Red Bull driver has been motivated to have a strong showing in Melbourne.

He has also clarified that this season his primary focus is to race and train physically. The results from the first two races have not made a case for the multiple GP winner and he is in a dire need to turn around his performance.

He also mentioned earlier that he went back to working on the simulator after his performance in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.