Ricciardo believes he helped Tsunoda go faster

Daniel Ricciardo believes, and Visa RB management does not appear to contradict this, that it was he who helped the team deal with the problems it faced last year when he joined the team midway through last season , as a replacement for Nick de Vries.

Particularly in Mexico City, the experienced Australian showed the 4th result in qualifying and took 7th place in the race, and then his partner, Yuki Tsunoda, also went faster. This allowed the team from Faenza to climb to 8th place in the Constructors’ Championship over the last four stages, and just three points were not enough to overtake Williams.

But in 2024, Daniel is behind Tsunoda since the start of the season, who already has seven points, while Ricciardo has none.

“It’s simple: he’s a good pilot now,” Daniel noted of his partner’s performance level. – Does he do something different than me? I wouldn’t say that. I think it can only be explained by the fact that he manages to build really good circles.

Last year we were able to achieve a breakthrough in Mexico City in the field of working with institutions. I think after that great weekend Yuki was definitely curious about how we set up the car and how I handle driving. It is quite normal that he subsequently reached approximately the same level.

Now our cars are set up almost identically and I think he is just as comfortable behind the wheel as I was last year. In addition, he knows how to squeeze almost everything he can out of the car. He has adapted well and is performing well without using crazy techniques. Overall he’s doing great.”