RB’s Daniel Ricciardo has denied that his struggles in the 2024 Formula 1 season are comparable to his period with McLaren, despite admitting the results are similar.
Ricciardo entered this campaign aiming to stake his claim to return to the Red Bull drive he vacated, but less experienced team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has outshone him.
Tsunoda has scored points in five out of the opening eight races to guide RB to sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship, with Ricciardo sitting 14 points behind.
The Australian, who qualified 12th in Monaco as Tsunoda claimed eighth, has highlighted being unable to progress through to Q3 as an overriding reason for the gap.
But while his woes resemble his shortlived McLaren stint, Ricciardo insists that the pace is there and it’s now about figuring out how to unlock it on a consistent basis.
“I definitely felt good coming into the [Monaco qualifying] session,” he said. “Obviously two years ago here, I struggled with McLaren.
“I felt a lot better, let’s say, this time around, but the reality is the result isn’t really that much better.
“I want to try and take a good look at myself and see what I’m missing and then we’ll look at what the car can give me to help me out.
“I think the frustrating thing is I can do it but it’s obviously not happening frequently enough.
“And that’s where I’m kind of getting frustrated with myself trying to understand why it’s not consistently week in, week out being a Q3 contender.”
Ricciardo’s troubles have sparked rumours that he could lose his drive, with Liam Lawson, who deputised at five rounds last term, touted as the obvious replacement.
RB CEO Peter Bayer handed Ricciardo a boost with the claim that he is satisfied with its pairing, but the ex-Red Bull driver has stressed he is not fixating on his future.
“I mean I’ll be honest, I haven’t really given too much [thought],” he added. “That’s great to hear and yes, that would be awesome, but I want to be doing better consistently.
“The gap [to Tsunoda], maybe we do find something that [explains] why I lost a bit here or there. There’ll probably always be something. This is F1 and it’s never perfect.
“I’m not happy with having these gaps. I think that’s what’s frustrating me a bit. Obviously the team has been great and they’ve been really supportive and obviously they know I can do it.
“But it’s been a bit more of a struggle this year to do it week in, week out, and that’s really where my focus is now as opposed to getting too comfortable or excited about what the future holds. I want to be doing better, whether that’s car or me.”
