The pressure is already piling on Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo’s start to the new F1 season has been underwhelming, to say the least, and his performance on Sunday morning in the Saudi Arabia grand prix was poor.
At the moment, Ricciardo has fallen behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, a fact noted by Red Bull director Dr Helmut Marko.
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Ricciardo has been behind Tsunoda in both qualifying sessions this year. He finished thirteenth in Bahrain and was a disappointing sixteenth in Saudi Arabia after making a driver error on lap 49 where he seemingly lost control of his car and spun out of the chicane.
Marko has now publicly shared his thoughts about Ricciardo and the Red Bull kingmaker is seemingly running out of patience.
“There’s a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel,” Marko said in a column for Speedweek.
Ricciardo checks his Visa Cash App RB car ahead of the Saudi Arabia grand prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
“Yuki’s qualifying was very good, and Ricciardo has to come up with something soon …
“At least Tsunoda is very good in qualifying.
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“Then they are in the points in the first stint, only to fall further behind afterwards …
“Whether they are putting too much strain on the tyres or there are other reasons is what you need to find out.”
After Ricciardo’s chicane blunder, the commentators said it was a strange error when they realised he had not been tagged or bumped by another driver.
“It’s very odd,” commentator Karun Chandhok said.
“You have to say, in that fight for the Red Bull seat. (Sergio) Perez has done a very good job. Seven and a half seconds behind Max (Verstappen) is a very, very solid performance and that’s exactly what they want.
“They want him to be ahead of everyone else and to just be there if Max has an issue.”
Verstappen won the race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Perez in second.
Commentator Simon Lazenby said: “It’s been a frustrating night for Danny Ricciardo. He hasn’t been able to make an impression.
“Lost places at the start and hasn’t really made an impression on this race.”
Adding to Ricciardo’s woes during the race, it was later revealed that one of his pit-stops took an eternity, costing him more than 40 seconds.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, setting the fastest lap on the way to his first podium of the season.
However, it was rookie stand-in teammate Oliver Bearman who stole the show, the teenager finishing seventh and voted driver of the day.
Australian Oscar Piastri also enjoyed a fine day at the Corniche circuit, finishing fourth, one of his best results in the McLaren.
Ricciardo is hoping to be promoted to Red Bull’s senior team in 2025, and claim the seat that will be made vacant by Perez.
At the moment, if that is going to happen, the 34-year-old’s fortunes will need to dramatically shift.
– With AAP
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